The Vampire Heero
by Lady AngelFiren
Summary: Heero has a secret, and when Duo pokes his nose where it doesn't belong, he's drawn into a new world of preternatural challenges. Messages from the past draw our heroes into a dangerous battle for the soul of a long-dead boy, but everything goes wrong!
1. The Vampire Heero; Ch.1

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part One  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

I awoke to the quiet rustling of curtains. Pale moonlight spilled in through the large window which was wide open despite the chill night. Without moving or even breathing heavily, I watched my roommate, co-pilot, and best friend as he climbed effortlessly onto the thick wooden windowsill and sat cross-legged, staring into the crisp night.

As always, his short brown hair was tossed in every direction, but it had taken on an aura of pale blue moonlight that changed the scene to that of a make-believe faeryland. He wore only a pair of plain white boxer shorts, leaving most of his beautifully chiseled body open for me to see; strong arms, rock hard stomach, his back was perfect, the bumps of his spine just barely visible. Thick muscle covered every part of him, but he appeared thin and delicate. It was a confusing balance. How one body could be so strong and hard, while remaining visibly gentle, fine, and even feminine. His skin, at times, had been torn right open, or he would receive a deep wound and I would always think he'd end up with a scar sooner or later, but it never happened. Day in, day out, he remained eternally smooth, virtually flawless, like a great milky stretch of sky, untouched by any cloud. I love his skin. I didn't often touch him, but when I did I was amazed at the satiny quality of him, always pristine and clean, never greasy or sweaty, despite the long hours into the night he would spend, working on his gundam. I don't understand the way we would endure long, hard battles, and when I was near fainting from exhaustion and falling out of my mobile suit, he simply hops to the ground, not so much as breaking a sweat. No, I'm not jealous

What was he doing? Just sitting on the window, not moving, staring at the moon. Why? 

/Maybe he's an insomniac or something,/ I thought to myself, staring quietly after him. I just didn't get it. Heero Yuy was a complete mystery to me, and I couldn't get him out of my mind. 

/Maybe my dreams would be kinder./ I didn't think he was planning on moving for awhile, so I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

I am not a morning person, and that does not even _begin_ to cover it. I woke up with my face pushed into my pillow, uncomfortably hot sunlight pouring over me. I was lying twisted harshly in my sheets, drenched with sweat, and sporting a nice morning erection to boot. I'd slept absolutely miserably, plagued by dreams that I don't think any sixteen year old boy should have. Ever.

I pulled myself up, hating the morning and the overly cheerful songbirds that just would not shut up. I knew I'd be a happy chappy after I woke all the way up, but for now, it was time to wallow in self pity and detest the world in general. Mornings do that to me.

/Stupid school, stupid homework, stupid getting up at the crack of dawn, stupid homework. God my life sucks! And those are the "normal" things! We can't forget the whole "secret identity" thing, with the giant destructo-bots and the fact that I'm _supposed_ to be worrying about things like girls, not things like saving the world. Oh, and of course I'll be harassed by half the school if I'm hungry enough to go to the Caf today (or any day) and I am very hungry. Wee. Life is great./

I was always being picked on, fondled and beat up by a bunch of guys ten times my size. Its not as if I couldn't defend myself; I mean I was a specially trained terrorist for Chrissakes! I could have every one of them in the hospital, but it'd blow my cover, and it was too important that I not draw any attention to myself. Besides, if I got found out, Heero would can my sorry ass, and he was the very last being on the planet I would ever want to fight. I'd be dead before I could blink at him, and he'd be far, far away on some mission or something. No, fighting Heero is not exactly on my list of "Things I Need to do Today."

I stepped into the shower after carefully unwinding my braid. I was very protective of my hair, and nobody touched it unless I let them, which basically meant that nobody touched my hair. It reached just past my butt, and was honey-streaked chestnut brown, very lustrous and thick. If Heero wanted to touch it, maybe comb it out, I guess I would let him, but no one else. I wouldn't have much of a choice, considering that if he wanted anything from me I'd probably just melt into a happy little puddle on the floor. Yeah, that's me, Duo Maxwell, terrorist, pilot, escape artist, and hopelessly in love with my _male_ co-pilot. That'd look great on any application form or resume. But still, if only he'dnaw, it'd never happen. But what if it did?

I quickly found myself thinking about things that were _so_ not shower related, like Heero, unraveling my hair and running his fingers through it. I could almost feel his tough, however soft hands trailing down my back and tracing patterns on my skin. Hands that were probably strong enough to bend steel, gently kneading and rubbing my shoulders

I sank down in the shower, running my own hands over my torso and pinching sensitive nipples. I grasped my rapidly hardening shaft in one eager palm and pumped slowly, sensuously along its length, feeling my whole body respond with a shiver that ran from between my legs, throughout my form, and then returned whence it'd come, increasing my pleasure threefold. The sensations raced through me in great ripples, pulsing outward from my groin, as I stroked myself harder and faster, now pulling roughly on my stiff erection. The friction was enormously satisfying, and I began to moan under my own ministrations, drawing near to the cliff of passion every time my hand passed over the head of my manhood.

I had to struggle to stay quiet, and the endeavor that this became only fed the heat that was now circling freely through my body. Water from the shower further impassioned me as it slid down my back, through my hair, and rained upon my face and chest. I stopped stroking myself, sliding my hand lower to grasp and massage my balls. A thin whimper escaped my throat as I pictured Heero doing this same thing to me while kissing wet trails all over my skin. /God, Heero!/ I thought, water swiftly rushing down my chest and over my toned stomach to create a maddening waterfall between my legs, where the liquid's tiny frictions excited me, igniting fire anywhere it touched. 

I resumed pumping myself. I was thrusting into my hand more so than the hand was acting, my body twitching forward involuntarily. My breathing was heavy, rough now, and I couldn't see straight anymore. The drumming of rasped breaths pushed me ever closer to the brink of madness, like a skydiver just before jumping, or a bungee jumper on a bridge. I thumbed the slit in the tip of my erection, which was already dripping pre-cum, and toppled over the edge of pleasure, Heero's smooth face and impossibly deep blue eyes dancing in my vision. I climaxed into my hand and onto the tile wall of the shower stall.

I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath, as I was panting heavily. The sticky substance slid slowly down the polished tile and into the drain as I got weakly to my feet, knees wobbling a little, and proceeded to scrub myself clean, washing the long chestnut hair I'd spent most of my life growing out with extra care and attention.

Finished and somewhat relieved, I turned off the water and vigorously toweled myself off, pulling the fluffy blue material across my back, legs, arms and chest and eventually securing the tangled mass of dripping locks on top of my head. A second blue towel served as a makeshift skirt, and I left the steamy confines of the tiny bathroom to dress and face the world.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Caf. God I hated it. You'd think a guy as social as me would have enjoyed the throngs of people who were talking and laughing over trays of bearable food, and just generally having a good time. Nuh unh, no way. I would have, maybe, except the people here were just so, I don't know, so barbaric. 

I walked through the entryway. The door was held open by a huge burly guy with shaggy, dirty black hair and sallow skin, who winked at me and grabbed my ass when I passed him. My eyes grew dark, and I literally growled at him, making no move, however, to physically defend myself. Couldn't do that, couldn't draw attention.

"Fuck off Karl," I sneered, and continued walking briskly between the rows long tables stuffed with people. Maybe he'd give me a break today and let me go. I was rapidly approaching the point where I would actually defend myself. I can take a lot of bullshit, but there's only so far I'll go before something snaps me into action. Unfortunately, I couldn't really hurt him, but I might bust his face up a little, just so he'll leave me alone. I told myself that if he touched me today I'd hurt him. That was, of course, if I could. Often he wouldn't leave anything open, and I wouldn't be able to escape without seriously injuring him. 

/Oh well, a few bruises and hurt feelings aren't gonna do anything./  
"Hey Maxwell, is that any way to talk to me? Now I think I'll have to punish you. Or maybe I'll just fuck you. Little slut, you'd like that, wouldn't you. Be a good fuck toy, come on."

Karl grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me into his massive arms. Nobody in the huge, crowded room seemed to even notice as I was roughly shoved against a wall. He grabbed my crotch in one gorilla hand and kneaded my balls painfully. Now he had me, I wouldn't be escaping him so easily (or at all) today. When I squirmed and tried to pry myself free of him, his grin widened, showing rows of perfectly straight, however very yellow teeth, and he kneaded harder. I whimpered dejectedly, but quickly bit back and further sounds and vowed my refusal to accept his actions. He began to unbutton my shirt with one hand in a skillful manner that indicated how much practice he'd had with this sort of thing, and I felt a shiver pass through me. Any movement I made that he did not like (and there was no way of telling what he didn't like) was rewarded with a painful, stomach-turning clench, and soon my head swam dizzily with the unpredictable pain.

It was even more sickening and degrading however, because my body, ignoring my mind's screams of displeasure, started to respond to the attentions. My nipples hardened into erect little nubs of flesh, and I grew stiff, sweating profusely. Karl undid my pants with an ecstatic look on his face, and forced his hand inside to stroke me through the thin fabric of my boxers.

"Karl, stop it." I refused to beg. I wouldn't, because I knew that was what he wanted to hear, but also because my pride wouldn't let me. I always did have too much pride.  
"Shut up, slut. For that I'll leave you like this, and finish you later, and you won't like it, I can promise that."

He kissed me, forcing his tongue deep into my mouth. His breath was sour and wretched, like the smell of stuffed olives, eggs, and mold all together in one horrible odor/taste. I could understand why his teeth were yellow. He'd probably never brushed them, not once. The thought of him eating rotted earth and bugs filled me; it was absolutely disgusting and I shuddered, trying to push him off of me. I received a strong, very painful pull on my length, but the sound my throat made was swallowed by his suffocating kiss. I could feel bile rising in my throat, but Karl broke off before I actually heaved in his mouth. Good thing, I wonder what he would have done to me if I had. Karl looked at me, eyes sparkling excitedly. My face was twisted in a sick, repulsed grimace. He drew back and punched me in the stomach. Hard. Then he was gone.

I sank down the wall breathless, my shirt and pants wide open so that anyone who cared to look could see the effect his ministrations had had on my body, despite my refusal. Nobody looked, no one offered to help me, and quite obviously, no one cared in the least. So what if one teenager gets sexually assaulted in broad daylight? Gotta go, sorry. Maybe I'll care when I've got time.

I buttoned up my shirt and pants, quickly leaving the Caf. Every time this happened, I felt a little more used, a little more worthless.  
/Maybe I am just a little slut. Maybe I secretly like what he does to me. Is that it? Am I so sick, perverted and masochistic that I actually like it when he touches me, hits me, and tells me I'm his slut?

Maybe I am.

But I don't want that! God, this is so confusing. I know he's scum, like so many of the other people around here, so why do I take it? And why am I even here, wasting my life and my efforts on these people? I bet a lot of the Oz soldiers I've so mercilessly destroyed were braver, and more worthy of their lives than any of the people here who live free to painfully destroy other people./

Yeah, its confusing. I can deal with it though, I just try not to think about it, and it doesn't go away, but its better.

~~~~~~~~~~

I returned to my room, finding it dark. The heavy blinds and drapes were pulled tightly shut over the windows, blocking out any beautiful sunlight that would have entered.  
/Musta been Heero,/ I reflected as I pulled them open. We were lucky, because our room was on the corner of the building, so we got two windows. I pulled the thick cloth back from the window that was right over Heero's bed, allowing warm sunlight to spill inward, illuminating everything in a soft, golden light. The normally neat blankets on my Japanese co-pilot's bed were crumpled and messy.

/That's strange,/ I wondered, when I realized that Heero was still _in_ the bed. He usually got up before me, although his first class wasn't until well after my day had started, about two hours after. He had fewer classes than me, because he'd already finished as many of them as he could in the other schools we were at. I'd rather have some free time. I guess he's never heard of that whole "relaxing" thing, which is why I was stunned to see him still in bed.

/Is he sick?/ that guy wouldn't let a cold stop him, Hell, he wouldn't let _Death_ stop him! Utterly relentless./Hmmmm/

"Hey Heero, are you still in bed?" I asked in a jovial tone as I began to pull the blankets off of him. He didn't move, obviously he was in deep slumber. He just lay there on his stomach."Get your tired ass outta bed dude." I poked him in the back of the head. 

Instant reaction. He whipped around faster than I could react and grabbed my throat in a fierce grip. He pushed me down onto the bed and pulled a Baretta from under his pillow, which he put to my left eye.

My neck hurt and I couldn't breathe, but I just lay there, allowing a smile to spread over my face. This happened all the time, so I waited patiently for Heero to recognize me. He squinted at me, and the strangest thing happened. His eyes looked like they were mirrors for a fleeting second, and then it was gone, but I was kind of set off. He closed them and the shiny, silvery look was gone, he swallowed, then he released me.

My hands went immediately to my sore, injured throat and I coughed for awhile before I could speak."Thanks there, Heero. I get you out of bed, and you choke me. You are so friendly. Anyway, I'm hungry. Wanna come to the Caf with me? I hate it there, so I figured I'd drag you along for the ride. Please!? There's food and everything!" I smiled hopefully.  
  
"Fine." He said tersely and pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a green tank top. 

We left.  


  



	2. The Vampire Heero; Ch.2

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Two  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

We arrived at the entrance to the dreaded place and walked in with no problems. I stepped in line to get my food, and Heero moved to the tables, occupied by a horde of screaming, laughing teenagers.  
  
/No! I need him here with me! That's the whole reason I brought him!/ My mind began to panic frantically searching for a way to get him in line with me.

"Heero!" I called, not sounding at all like myself, "Heero, aren't you hungry?"

He shook his head and continued briskly towards a table. A few kids sitting there saw him coming and made a hasty retreat, practically scrambling out of his way with frenzied effort. Unlike myself, nobody fucked with Heero Yuy. He sat with his back to me, and I turned to continue my wait, sighing to myself. Karl was right in front of me, smiling maliciously.

/Oh shit./

I considered my options, because the gleam in his eyes said 'payback', and it didn't really matter that there wasn't much _to_ pay back, I was in for it anyway. I could play fuck toy to Karl, or I could leave the line, which would only attract Heero's attention and effectively seal my fate for the future. I could also ask Heero for his help. Oh, and I could always take the big, burly, heavy-chested freight train out myself, and what a commotion that would cause. Great choices.

Well, asking for help and leaving were out of the question, because either way Heero would get involved, and I had way too much pride for that. I also couldn't hurt him, as that would draw attention, and blow my cover, which would result in my death anyway, thanks to Spandex Boy. So, I had to let him do whatever he wanted to me. Disgusting.

He grabbed me roughly and kissed me, bruising my lips and invading my mouth with his tongue and that gawd-awful, moldy taste. My stomach flip-flopped wildly, but I clenched it tightly, refusing to blow chunks in his face, as much as I'd have liked to. He broke the kiss, but gripped my shoulders tightly, pulling me to him. It was awkward, because he towered more than a foot over my head, and had to bend as he put his face right into mine, smiling all the while. He wore a sickly expression, his skin being waxen as his eyes sparkled darkly, which were tiny compared to the sheer bulk of his head, accentuated by the thick, muscular neck. His teeth showed through, and they were just as perfectly straight as ever, and just as grimy.

"Hey slut, why don't you call your macho friend over here to stop me? Because you have too much pride, right?"

/Yes./ I thought, feeling horribly weak all over.

"Is it because you actually _like_ this? Huh? So you like it when I kiss you? Well, you'll like it better when I fuck you. Dry."

/Oh God Is he right? Do I actually get off on this? That's disgusting! But why _do_ I let my pride stop Heero from helping me, when I won't help myself? Still, I won't let him make me his fuck toy. I'd rather kill myself./

Karl had one thick arm wrapped around my waist now, and the other was busily groping my nether parts. I shuddered visibly with horrified disgust as I grew hard under his fingers.

/Please, please stop it./ I begged mentally and squeezed my eyes shut as he kissed me again. His sour olive breath filled me once more, and as before, nobody cared or even noticed what was going on, how he was violating me. We were still a fair distance from the end of the food line; the monstrous teen had plenty of time to fondle and hurt me, and my mind had ample time to further bury itself in confusion and uneasiness.

Karl gripped my waist and continued to play with my balls through my pants, now squeezing a little too hard if I showed my revulsion in any manner. A pained squeak would escape me, along with a hurt look, every time that he did this. He took me aggressively by the shoulder and forced me out of the line, across the cafeteria to a corner where far fewer people would see what he was doing, although nobody would have stopped him. I was filled with plain fear as I thought what it was he wouldn't want _this_ school to see. I trembled intuitively.

"On your knees, slut," he commanded, pushing me down to the floor in front of him. Tears threatened me, but I bit down on my inner cheek, forcing them to retreat. He'd never gone this far before. I was scared.

"Undo my pants and suck my dick. And if you try to escape or hurt me, I'll rip off your balls and that braid of yours, and make you eat 'em. Got it?"

There was no room for argument in his tone. I considered escape, but I seriously believed that he'd hold true to his words. If not my manhood, then at least my hair. It was hard for me to think that I was willing to suck dick for a stupid braid, but I refused to lose my hair. It meant far more than a blow job.

I shuddered and knelt steadily, moving to undo his pants with shaking fingers. I saw that he was already quite hard, and the thought of him crammed down my throat and coming only served to further sicken me. Unzipping him, I eased his boxers over the grotesquely huge, stiff, and dripping member that belonged to the towering monster before whom I stooped, absolutely disgusted with myself. I tried (unsuccessfully) to ignore what I was doing as I lowered my mouth towards him. I was trembling violently.

Suddenly, he cried out in pain, and he was laying on the floor with Heero on top of him. One of his massive arms was obviously broken, lying limply twisted, bruised and swelling rapidly. I could never have done that. Sure, I'd knock him down, but to so quickly and effortlessly disable him, impossible. Yet here was Heero, having mutilated and arm in a mere instant! He destroyed Karl's face with two solid punches, and to top it off, kicked the creature, who was screaming and crying through his broken jaw and nose, right in the balls, hard enough to destroy any chance he'd ever have to be a father. People hadn't really noticed, until they heard the horrible cry he loosed when kicked. It was like a mixture of a cat and a bird being hit by a truck, whining and horrible. Still, they kept their distance. Heero was known to be dangerous, and here he was proving it to everybody. They weren't about to mess with him.

Heero walked over to me, and I felt embarrassed enough to die as I saw the confused look cross his face. He didn't understand why I'd let Karl do that to me when I could easily have defended myself. I was still shaking badly, and the tears were inevitable. He stood over me for a puzzled moment, before scooping me up and carrying me off.

It was frightening to be in his arms, his grasp so strong that I appeared to weigh nothing. I looked up at him and saw a strangely reflective gleam in his eyes, which brought my thoughts back to the very same gleam I'd seen in them before he was fully awake. It was almost like a thin mirror coated them, but he blinked, and it was gone, replaced by deep cobalt blue.

~~~~~~~~~~

Heero didn't bring me to a nurse or the principal or anything. Rather, he took me back to our room immediately, and lay me in my bed. I was still shaking rather violently, so he pulled the blankets up to my chin and brought me a glass of water. I drank greedily, wiping tears from my face in a self-conscious gesture, hoping he hadn't seen them, but I knew he had. I thought about what his opinion of me must be, and the tears began to streak down my cheeks once more.

Heero looked at me a little, then went over to his bed and pulled the drapes shut. He returned to me and sat on the edge of my bed, remaining silent, but continuing to stare at me. His eyes communicated his wishes that I be ok, and he watched every move I made as I fumbled with my fingers, suddenly very nervous under his surveillance. 

"What happened?" he asked when I'd settled.

/Oh great question mastermind, why the hell did you have to ask that? Isn't it kind of obvious? Or would you rather I further humiliate myself by telling you everything? D'uh, he grabs me and hits me, and today he wanted me to suck him off. Happens all the time, please don't make me do this./

I closed my eyes and tried to think of what to tell him. I knew he wasn't exactly accustomed to conversation, especially if it involved emotion. I also knew how relentless he was when he had his mind set on something. 

"Heero, don't worry about it. Thanks for helping me and all, but I could have dealt with it. I have to go to class now, alright?"

I had figured out from experience, that the only way around him was to treat his simple, one-track mind as exactly that, by trying to focus it elsewhere. It sometimes helped if I spoke to him as if he were younger, being affirmative, but a little soft. Today he had other plans; I tried to get up, and he held me down.

/Damn it./

"No, tell me what happened, and why you didn't do something about it. Obviously, you're not 'fine'. You cried. You never cry, unless you think no one is watching. What's going on?" Heero's tone was forceful, but a little quavery. I think he was as afraid to ask as I was to answer.

"How would you know if I ever cry?" I was puzzled that he knew this. Was he always watching me?

"Sometimes I hear you at night, when we should be sleeping, and you often cry in your sleep, but its not just that. You've been different lately, quieter. And you have bruises on your arms, and other places. Why do you let people hit you? What is wrong, Duo?" 

My fellow pilot's deep, insightful questions frightened me. If Heero, of all people, could see these things, then could everyone? And what did he think of me now, after this show of weakness? I broke down (I'd barely put up a fight, sadly) and began to babble on about everything, sobbing gracelessly into my hands.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything about this. You're right. I do let Karl and his friends hit me and assault me, and I don't tell you or anybody. I know its stupid, but I just cannot let other people see this. I'm supposed to be the happy guy, and if I'm moping over my own problems, then I can't help anybody. I don't know how much you saw today, but its normal. He likes to pinch, tease, kiss, grope, you know, but I'm used to it. Now, he's gonna be really mad, and he'll probably punish me. I wish you wouldn't have done that Heero, but don't sweat it, I'll get over it. Have to, always do. Gotta save the world and everything. Gotta save people like Karl by killing Oz soldiers, half of whom are probably nice, decent guys, with a family and a future. That really pisses me off, but I just don't care anymore. Might as well let Karl have his way with me, then get blown up, and no one will remember I was ever here."

I couldn't believe I'd just said that, I didn't think I had that much self pity inside of me, and I didn't even know I was that upset about things, until I'd gone and blurted everything to Heero. He could think what he wanted, I knew I was right. My life was pointless. No one would miss me when I was gone, except maybe Karl, who'd have to find a new little 'slut' to play with. Let someone have some fun with me, at least they'd be happy.

Heero closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He looked up at me, a broken, hurt look in his eyes. "Duo, I don't think you can begin to understand how wrong you are. Quit letting people walk all over you. You are important. Life is so short, try and be happy. Go after what _you_ want while you can."

He pulled me into his arms and pressed me gently against his chest, and I cried out my sorrow. His embrace was so strong, I couldn't have escaped if I'd wanted to, but It was so tender and gentle that I was absolutely shocked by him. Nevertheless, I cried into him, loving the unnaturally soft skin, his smell, and the soothing touch of one hand as he drew it through my hair and rubbed my back.

After awhile, I settled and just lay there, clutching him tightly, afraid to let go. I felt a cool wetness drop onto my cheek, and I looked up curiously. His eyes brimmed with tears. They streaked down his cheeks and slid down his neck. The tears were thick, and had a familiar, yet somehow strange scent. They were also a deep crimson, like blood.

"Heero, what-" he quickly shut his eyes and released me, then ran into the washroom and slammed the door, locking it with an audible 'click'.

/What's going on?/ I pondered silently. The tear that had fallen onto my cheek trickled downward, itching my skin a little, because it was such a tiny, quivering drop of liquid. I wiped it with a finger, then stuck the finger into my mouth. Definitely blood.

/Why are you crying? And why do you cry blood? Heero, what is happening here?

I took my schoolbag, and went to first period.  


  



	3. The Vampire Heero; Ch.3

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Three  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

At break I ran hurriedly to the dorm and into my room. Heero wasn't there, so I left and went to my next class. At lunch I checked the room with no more success, and headed to the dreaded Cafeteria to see if he'd gone there, and to eat. I was ravenously hungry, having skipped breakfast, and shuddered to think of all the things that might happen when I walked into that hot, crowded room. Fortunately, nobody bothered me. In fact no one said two words to me, and I got through the entire food line without having my ass grabbed even once. Surprising, to say the least. 

I got myself a stack of ham sandwiches on white bread and went over to a deserted table, sitting down heavily. You'd have thought I was fifteen years older just by the way I sat, thankful to get off my feet even though I hadn't really been on them all that much. I sighed, and I swear, nobody would have recognized me from the smiling maniac I usually was, when compared to the contemplating, weary figure I had become. My eyes drooped a little, and I had a headache just from worrying so much over what had happened that morning. Needless to say I wasn't able to eat a single bite, despite my stomach's rumbling protests. 

I just couldn't understand! What was going on here?! With Heero, and with me. Yes, me. Running the past few weeks through my mind like a movie, I watched myself submit more and more to Karl, letting him touch me, and kiss me, and do a few other things that I wasn't exactly proud of. I was filled with curdling, ripened revulsion for myself, and it only got worse when I got to the scene of Heero jumping in and saving me. That wasn't really the worst part, it was the look in his eyes, that glimmering confusion that I suspect was a little unmasked sliver of the real Heero Yuy. The puzzlement of how I could let that happen to me, when it was obviously not what I wanted and I was perfectly capable of stopping it. 

I swirled my finger around in a circular pattern on the table and sat there for the rest of lunch period, thinking over the even stranger thing that had happened. Heero cried. He cried, he held me, and his tearshis tears were blood. It was very upsetting. Maybe one of the infamous Dr. J's little techniques, something to stop him from ever crying? Definitely a possibility, the old scientist _was_ completely nuts, and it would be a good idea to have your perfect weapon unable to cry like a normal person, just in case he ever got caught. But everything that he'd done, it was so, so _not_ Heero. The tender way he'd crushed me to him in those impossibly strong arms, running a hand softly through my hair, and telling me it was ok, that I shouldn't hate myself. I never knew he valued life like that. Sure, other people's lives, like those he saved by fighting, but his own? And mine? 

/Duo, I don't think you can begin to understand how wrong you are. Quit letting people walk all over you. You are important. Life is so short, try and be happy. Go after what _you_ want while you can./

It played through my mind, over and over until it was a blur of soundless words, all washed through in a sheet of thick red tears. His words. Heero's words, spoken honestly, with a streak of immeasurable pain that had been hidden for so very long. He was hurting too, and now that he'd let me see a little piece of himself, I wanted more, I wanted it all, even if it was mostly pain. We'd both suffered in our lives, and misery does love company. If we couldn't find a way to be happy, then at least we could take some small pleasure in being together. I knew I was taking this a little too far, getting too excited, and thinking too much just because he'd slipped his mask a little, but I couldn't help it. I was caught up in my little reverie, and nothing would have pulled me out of it as I sat there alone and as someone, someone entirely swallowed by their musings. 

The bell went and I dumped my untouched food mechanically, not really thinking. Heero was in my next class, would he show up? I couldn't decide how to approach the situation, and thinking about it all lunch hour had not helped a bit, in fact, I was worse off now. If he showed up, I'd just act normal, like nothing had happened. I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, or stop him from sharing any part of himself with me, so I wouldn't push. 

I plastered a huge grin on my face as I walked in the door, and began to talk to a few of my friends, joking over something or other. I was instantly thankful for my mind's ability to carry out a conversation unconsciously, like breathing. I had no idea what I was saying to the kid across from me who snickered and said something back to me. Whatever it was, I guess he thought it was pretty funny, because he just couldn't stop laughing. The majority of my thoughts were on the figure seated in the row second from the front, center desk. Ramrod straight spine, tousled, dark brown hair, steely cold eyes, Heero. He was especially tense, and I think even the teacher had noticed his hands clenching tightly together then relaxing, only to tense again. I watched him, as if he couldn't see me, because I was still talking to someone on the other side of me, but once again, I wasn't even sure who. I felt like a guest in my mind, as if I were simply using another person's body to watch from without being noticed. It was very strange.

Halfway through class, when everybody (even me) was quietly taking notes, there was a loud *snap* and we all turned to see Heero with his pen crushed on his desk. He had snapped the end off, and mashed the long part of the pen into a sad little heap. The teacher looked at him and didn't say anything. She was scared of his eyes, I guessed. They were icy hard, a Death Glare to rival all Death Glares, a little of that unusual silver luminescence showing, and as ink spilled across his paper I saw him working to cover his face with the stoic mask once more. It took him a few moments, and it didn't help that the entire group was staring at him like he had ten heads, but he finally got himself under some semblance of control, and asked to go get cleaned up. The poor teacher just nodded and scurried back to the board to finish her notes. 

He left and did not return to class, and I spent the rest of the day wondering what had made him so dangerously angry or upset (although I kind of knew) and thinking of how he had managed to maim a pen. 

/God he must be strong, maybe J gave him some kind of super strength too, I wouldn't be surprised. I just don't ever want him mad at me, 'cause I have this sneaking suspicion that I won't make it out alive/

It was torture to sit through last period, thinking the same little thought circle over and over, but somehow I managed to make it through, and was beyond thankful to be free of classes for the day. I went to the library (I am _so_ cool) to do my homework before I ate, so that I wouldn't have to do it all later. Dragging my heavy bag along for the ride (I swear the damn thing weighs 50 kilos), I made my way to the evil Caf in time for dinner and quickly took my tray of food with me back out the door. Karl was in there, he just hadn't seen me yet, and I was now hungry enough to eat my textbooks, so I didn't need him messing with me. I wasn't exactly _aloud_ to eat in the dorm, but I really couldn't have cared less. Fuck the school, I was not dealing with bullies while I ate. Hopefully Heero had found some nice OZzies to kill, so I wouldn't have to deal with him, but I knew there would be no such luck. 

I still hadn't thought of anything to say to him when I keyed myself in and dropped my bag on the worn carpet with a *pound!*, tray of food balanced easily in one hand. He was seated at his desk, typing furiously on his laptop. The keys stopped clacking when I got in, and started up again only a second later.

"Hi Heero," I said casually, seating myself on my bed and pulling the tray of hot food into my lap. "Hungry? There's enough for two, and I brought an extra drink."

Heero ignored my offer, but turned around in his chair and stood up almost mechanically. I could see the tension building in him again, and I quickly stuffed any hopes I'd had of this being a pleasant evening away in a dark corner of my head where I would never find them again. Ever. But I was still puzzled as to what was making him so especially angry. I knew he wasn't into the whole show your emotions thing, but yeesh! He looked at me like I'd murdered his whole family and laughed! I was ready to start trembling any second, but his words stopped me. His voice was calm and smooth, like it had been buttered up and kept all warm, but had remained just a little rough. Despite the strange mood in the room, I could only think how great that voice would sound if it moaned in pleasure, or screamed my name, or

/Duo! Bad! Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts. He is standing there like he wants to kill you, and you're thinking about peeling his clothes off and making him moan? BAD DUO!/ I scolded myself, but it was a sad attempt. He was turning me on, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"I'm going out, I'll be back in a few hours. I guess then I'll talk to you about what happened this morning." He left, not bothering to don a jacket despite the fact that it was after dark and rather cold out.

I ate in silence and finished up the rest of my homework. Several hours had passed, and Heero still wasn't back. I was worried about him; what if he was caught by OZ? I got ready for bed and pulled out a novel to pass the time.

~~~~~~~~~~

He came in around eleven, quietly entering, then shutting the door with a soft click before he turned to me.

"Why are you still up?" he asked (as if he didn't know)

"Three guesses, and the first two don-hey! What the hell happened to you?" I was startled to see his tank top torn to shreds in the front, bloody and very dirty. I don't think it was any of his blood though, because he was perfectly calm and obviously unharmed. He did appear a little flushed, his colour was a darker tan than usual.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Go to sleep Duo." 

He turned the light out by my bed and pulled the book from my hands, drawing the covers up to my chin. There was no room for argument in his tone, so I played along, closing my eyes and allowing my breathing to slow, as if in sleep. I never actually meant to fall asleep, but it was inevitable. I was tired from everything that had happened that day, and laying there under the soft warmth of sheets and blankets, I fell into a comfortable slumber. 

~~~~~~~~~~

When I opened my eyes and looked at the clock it read 2:30AM. I'd fallen asleep, and had awoken to the sound of a dresser drawer being opened. Heero was standing there with his back to me, stark naked in the gentle moonlight that spilled in from the window, which was wide open.

I watched in complete silence, careful not to disrupt my breathing pattern, as he pulled on a pair of light blue boxers and climbed easily onto the windowsill, sitting cross-legged and staring out at the moonlight as he'd done before.

/What the hell is he doing?/

Heero sat there for awhile, virtually unmoving as my mind raced over possibilities as to why he would just be sitting there. The moonlight traced him softly, and he looked more like a smooth marble sculpture than a person. It was eerie. His whole body appeared to be made of stone; velvety and almost powdery looking, but I knew he wielded strength and power too.

/I want to get to the bottom of this, I _will_ find out what's going on!/

I sat up easily and he turned slowly towards me. "Heero, what's going on?" I asked in a gentle tone that demanded no answer. 

I gasped when I saw him.  


  



	4. The Vampire Heero; Ch.4

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Four  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

I sat up easily and he turned slowly towards me. "Heero, what's going on?" I asked in a gentle tone that demanded no answer. 

I gasped when I saw him.

His eyes were mirrors. I could see it clearly in the thick wash of moonlight that spilled in lazily through the large window on his side of the room. They looked as if someone had painted them with silver, or put a reflective film over them. I could just barely see the tiny blackness of a pupil in each eye, but the strong blue was entirely covered with an impenetrable mirror of the deepest gleaming silver. It wasn't terribly reflective, but it was somehow still a mirror. 

I was baffled beyond words. Not even the part of me that usually kept on talking had anything to say here, I was very confused, and severely put off balance. This was not the way things were supposed to be! My crush was not supposed to turn around and look at me with those eyes! I'm not sure what he _was_ supposed to do, but it wasn't this. 

He swallowed carefully and closed his eyes for a moment before answering my question in a quiet voice that still managed to be somewhat nasal, but held none of the frustration or anger that had been present earlier that day.

"Duo. I guess you'd like to know what's going on?"

"Well, yeah. That would be why I asked the question." I said quickly, and being none-too-polite about it.

Heero's eyes dropped to the floor and he sort ofwinced when I spoke. My words had scorned him, this was serious, and here I go, being all forceful and sarcastic. I mentally kicked myself, along with a little help from the voices in my head.

/Great Maxwell, he starts talking and you interrupt him and act all tough and sarcastic. Awesome start there, now fix what you just did you dumb fuck!/ The little voice in my mind, the one that always knew what to say, scolded me for my stupidity. It also refused to help me fix what I'd done, so I ended up stammering, not sounding even a little bit like myself.

"I-I'm sorry, Heero. ThatI guess that was rude of me, please go on, I'll listen better."

/Crappy apology, think he'll accept it?/ the voice teased me, and I snapped at it bitterly. 

/Go away! Let me do this, quit being a dick. Just fuck off, ok? Thank you, now get lost!/ The voice scurried away, but I had a feeling it'd be back for more sometime soon. At least I could concentrate on what Heero was talking about now.

In the meantime, Heero had turned around on the window ledge and sat facing me, hands fumbling nervously in his lap. All these signs of his discomfort were seriously bothering me. He never spoke quietly, it was always some monotone but perfectly audible command or report. He never _ever_ fidgeted, and it had become obvious that whatever he had to tell me was a sensitive issue, and extremely important to him. I couldn't fuck this up again, I had to react properly to whatever he said, because he'd be hurt if I didn't. Fun, very, very fun for me.

"Well, umI said before, I said I'd talk to you about about whathappened, and um, I guess- guess I have to now, but I'mI don't know if I can, and you'll- and you're going to hate me" He stopped, biting his lip hard and didn't look at me, "You'll hate me!" It was spoken with contempt for himself, like I wasn't the only one who should hate him, and he hated himself too.

My heart clenched and tried to explode in my chest. It hurt me to see him like this, stammering like a child and feeling all this self-pity. I wanted to pull him into my arms and show him that I certainly did _not_ hate him, nor would I, but that just wasn't the right thing to do then, so instead I tried to soothe him with words.

"Heero, whatever it is, whatever's bothering you, I won't hate you. I couldn't, because I see what kind of person you are every day, and the person I see is kind and good, even if he doesn't always know it. I don't believe I could ever hate you. What's wrong?"

/That was pretty good, Maxwell, I'm impressed./ The little voice was back, and I didn't want him to screw me up again, so I glared at it with my whole mind and mentally kicked it far, far away. I know it was being nice, but for once I actually had the confidence in myself to do this alone, I didn't need little voices affecting what I said. Wow, a whole new side of me

Heero's face changed from sad to despairing. His strangely reflective eyes were somehow lost, forlorn even. They spoke to me, and told me how much pain was actually inside my friend. The feeling of alone, of deserted hope was so strongly present now, that I was nearly suffocated by it. It hurt! It hurt a lot to watch Heero Perfect Soldier Yuy drop his masks like this, and tore me even worse when I saw the first hints of crimson pool in the corners of his eyes. Droplets of blood swelled and dripped from each silver eye, running quickly and thinly across both soft cheeks. Looking into him as I was, I got the feeling that there was nothing in his soul but the sound of the ocean wind ripping through a hollow place with unforgiving abandon, as the sun struggled to shine into the deepest crevices of a stone figure that is crumbling away but refuses to be broken. Silent music filled my ears, a chorus composed of a thousand voices laden with sorrow and pain, and I almost started crying myself as more bloody tears streaked across his cheeks. He bit his bottom lip harshly, and struggled not to let anymore of the tears escape him, as if each one were tearing a little piece of what he had away from him. 

I had never experienced another person's pain like this in all my life, and I was torn between shoving it all away where it couldn't touch me and screaming at it to stop, screaming that no one should have to endure that. Instead I got up and went over to him, seating myself on the windowsill beside him. I didn't know if he would want to be touched, or if any advance to comfort him would only add to his self-hate and revulsion, so I didn't make any move to pull him to me, despite my heart's strangled screams at me to quench the loneliness with physical contact. 

He looked away from me and took a heavy breath, rubbing his eyes with his hands. The moonlight played upon him, and his skin looked pale and virgin in the soft caress of night, while the blood on his cheeks and hands was a dark purple contrast. After a few more thick breaths, he stopped crying and had a little more success in wiping away his tears, but when he looked at his hands, stained with his own blood tears, a deep frown stole across his face and it became an angry scowl. He furiously pulled his comforter up from the bed and wiped his face and hands with vigorous friction, a fierce action that probably hurt his skin quite a lot. It seemed he was acting compulsively now, frantically trying to rid himself of a dirt that was deeper than the skin, perhaps deep enough to touch his soul and make him crazy. I had no idea, I simply saw my friend in pain, and I was feeling his pain, and now his anger, and it made me want to heave. I had no idea what to do, his confusing behavior had me offset.

Why were his tears blood? Why had he been crying? What caused him so much pain that he hated himself? I didn't know what to do with the anger that had built itself up in me, it was disconcerting. I shook my head physically, trying to lock it away from me or kick it out of my mind entirely, the way I had the annoying little voice. It worked to some extent, and my instincts kicked in. They told me to give him some sort of contact, let him know that he need not hate, let him know that even if he hated himself, I still wouldn't.

I slid a little closer to him (he had turned away from me, almost so his back was facing me) and wrapped my arms around him. He stiffened, and I felt his whole body turn to cool stone under my fingertips, I had to look at his face, see his eyes, silver and filled with fear and hate, just to know he was even still alive. His body literally felt like a marble statue. It looked like a marble statue. He was here, he was alive, but I was having some seriously strong doubts as to whether he was human or not. People just don't turn to liquid stone, at least not any I had ever seen, but here was Heero, the heat almost gone from him now, hard as a rock.

I gasped a little at this, the feeling of a moving statue. It was strange, eternal. I suddenly felt so safe holding onto him, like nothing could ever touch me, and my embrace changed from being one meant to comfort, to being a tight grasp on some last strength of the heart, an almost desperate stranglehold on a fading spirit.

I didn't realize how tightly I'd been holding him until I felt his soft, but unnaturally strong hands gently pry my arms off of him. He was much more composed now, the last traces of staining tears gone from him, the anger washed out of his gaze. It remained silver however, and I could see that he had merely pushed his own hurt back, stuffed it away as I so often did. I didn't want the sadness to come back, but I also had no intentions of letting him think I couldn't handle his pain. I was pretty much dying of curiosity now, and the whole 'tender moments' bit hadn't helped at all. Who exactly _was_ living in his mind and heart? And his body, it was so _strong!!_ My mouth often spoke before I could think of what to say, and as I watched myself talk to him, I hoped I wouldn't say anything to ruin the atmosphere that had settled over us.

"Heero? You're ok now? Would you tell me what is going on please. Youyour bodyand the tears What is it?"

I hefted a loud sigh of pure relief in my mind, and thanked the voice for knowing what to say. /Good job!/ I cheered it on and watched the emotions play across Heero's face once more, only this time they were not so sad or angry, more like he was deciding how to tell me whatever he had to say. 

The voice sort of scoffed at me. /Hey, you're lucky I came back! I shouldn't have, but he was hurting so much, I had to wring out a little compassion for the guy, you know? Don't expect me to be all cuddly and fluffy in the future though, just be glad I like him as much as you do./

/Aren't you me? Don't you _have_ to like him, because I do? Who exactly are you? And why are you in my head?/ The stupid little voice was confusing me now, and it was making me kind of agitated. I couldn't concentrate on Heero with this moron commenting on everything I did. 

I felt the voice I don't know sort of recede to the back of my mind, and I basically took over in full once more. It almost smiled at me, and blinked out of my consciousness. I was left wondering what the hell had just happened there, and I found the I was still able to speak with confidence, so I was even more confused.

/This is _not_ the time to wonder about the voices in my head!/ I warned myself, and focussed my full attention on Heero. I saw that though he had removed my arms from their deathgrip on him, He had kept one of my hands held in both of his, and was currently running his thumbs over the back of my palm, a look of hard thought on every one of his features. Finally, after what was most certainly an eternity or two, and my body had plenty of time to both react to his touches and get _very_ full of tense anticipation, he began to speak in that same calm, soft voice that still held much of his familiar nasal tone.

"I can't do this, butI will. Duo I'm-IDuo I'm not exactly human. I'm well, I'm not human." He looked at me, looked right into me, and I felt my whole body go almost numb. I had guessed at it, but things are never so real as when they're dropped right in your lap, and I couldn't make myself react. I wasn't angry or scared or even surprised, I had kind of known, but at the same time I hadn't, and it was paralyzing. I found my voice eventually, and it was as smooth as ever, but I remained aloof, just in case, I wasn't sure what I was dealing with here.

"Then what " I said quietly, not taking my eyes off of him.

He closed his own eyes and swallowed hard, his brow furrowing a little before he said one tiny word. " Vampire." He let go of my hand.  



	5. The Vampire Heero; Ch.5

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Five  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

/Vampire?/ My blood froze, and I couldn't make myself breathe. In my paralysis, a million and one thoughts went through my head to contradict what he'd said. I mean, this could _not_ be happening! I didn't believe that he was telling me the truth, but I couldn't imagine him lying to me either, so what could I believe? Confusion rushed through me, and Heero carefully watched the expression on my face become blanker and blanker as I sank into my own thoughts about what was happening here. I drew all of what I knew about any vampire I'd ever heard of into my mind. All the tales of evil and immortality and the superstitions about crosses and garlic. Heero couldn't be a vampire! I mean, he went out in the daytime, and ate people food, and he wasnice. He couldn't be! 

I warred with myself and almost forgot him when I felt a strong push in the back of my mind, like that little voice was curious to find out what was happening, and wanted me to hurry up and get myself straightened out so he could watch the show. I quickly told it to shut up, that this was not its problem, but it persisted. I became wrapped up in my little argument with the voice until Heero took my hand once more in his cool stone grip. This lodged a whole new war in me.

/He _has_ to be telling the truth, I mean he feels like marble! And his eyes, and the tears/

"Um, Duo? Are you ok?" he asked quietly, and hesitated before continuing. "Youdon't believe me, do you." It was more of a statement than a question, and his whole demeanor was somehow very depressed. Like he had sighed heavily, although not a sound escaped him. His nasal tone was laced thickly with a separated sort of resonance, as if he felt very apart from me. I wished more than anything that I could know just what was going through his head right then.

"Wellno, not really. But it doesn't mean I hate you Heero. I don't understand what's wrong, but I won't desert you." It was true, I didn't believe him, it just wasn't possible. My thoughts were more in the area of Dr. J; this was probably something of his mad genius, creating a human machine or something. I didn't know, but vampire was not up there on my list of things to believe.

"I'm serious. I'm a vampire. I've been this way for one hundred and seventy-two years. Duo, I'm crying blood, how could you not believe me?" He looked at me with a desperate need for me to understand his situation and his pain. His grip on my hand tightened, and I winced at the sear that went through me. I don't think he realized how hard he was holding my hand, but when I flinched slightly he quickly dropped it into my lap, a horrified look coming over his generally unexpressive face.

He did have a point, he was crying blood, butstill. I didn't believe in preternatural creatures like vampires did I? I continued to stare at him, but my gaze had softened, becoming a little more like it should have been, but far from the laughing violet it usually was. He kept talking in that lost nasal plea.

"Duo, please believe me, how can I prove it to you? Here, look." I obeyed his command and watched closely as he lifted an arm to his mouth and gashed a long trial into the soft flesh with one of his eye teeth. He held it up to me, and the scent of his blood barely had time to reach me as the wound closed itself up. It was way beyond just being eerie. It looked like the skin was alive and thinking on its own as it moved together and sealed itself quickly shut. The blood that had leaked out dried up quickly and floated away from him on the gentle evening breeze, gone like dust in the wind. His arm was smooth and flawless once more, only seconds after he'd torn it open. I looked up at him, and saw that his teeth were quite normal, except for the eye teeth. They were only a very tiny bit longer than an average person's, but appeared thin and razor sharp. They looked nothing like the teeth on vampires in the old movies I liked to watch. 

I glanced down at his arm again, then back up at him, seeing his strangely reflective eyes flash with what looked like hope. I was still very reluctant to believe him, but I couldn't ignore the facts. I inched closer on the windowsill, taking one of his hands into both of mine, a reverse of how he'd clasped my own hand a few minutes before. The tiny bit of warmth that lingered in his skin was still present, and he was lukewarm now, not really cold, but not hot either.

"Heero, you're a vampire? Why? And what is making you so upset? I looked sideways into his eyes, and he sighed in relief, leaning into me a little so that the back of his head was resting on my chest/stomach. I put my arms over his shoulders and rested my hands on his taut stomach. It was strange position, and normally this sort of contact with Heero would practically make me come, but now it just feltcomforting. I raised a hand and stroked his hair.

"Would you mind explaining some things? I guess I don't know much about" I trailed.

"Vampires?" he finished for me. There was almost a smile in his voice. Almost, but it was blocked out by the sadness he didn't seem capable of hiding. Maybe he'd hidden it for so long, and now that it was out he couldn't get it back in. Maybe, I wasn't sure. 

"Yeahvampires." The word sounded strange and foreign on my tongue. If I were alone I would have said it to myself a few times to get familiar with it, but I think that would have sounded just a little strange to Heero, who had slipped into a monologue about those particular beings. I slapped myself mentally for not listening to him from the start and perked up my ears. The little voice in my head chuckled at that, so I slapped it too.

"-vampire, it wasn't my choice though. I hate myself every day for it. I was born on the colonies in AC09, and lived in space my whole life until _this_ happened (he sort of gestured to himself, but stayed draped in my lap. It was an extremely tired, careless little act, but spoke volumes about how much he hated himself, like he wished he could just wave the whole thing away and become human. I still thought of him as human) when I was sixteen. I haven't changed or grown at all since then, and everyone I've ever been close to is long dead. The only thing I do well is kill innocent people or lie to them, and that disgusts me. Maybe that's why I chose to fight in the war. Maybe I was trying to gain redemption by doing the only thing I can. I don't know, I'm just sick of the world, I've wanted to die for the longest time. But then today something different happened. When I saw what Karl was doing to you, I was filled with anger and rage, but I wasn't thinking about myself at all, I wanted you to be ok. Its been a long time since I let anybody get to me like that, I should have talked to you about it sooner. I'm sorry. I've noticed the bruises on you arms and a few other places, but you didn't say anything, and I didn't want to get you upset. If you've taught me anything about yourself, its that you're as stubborn as they come, and you won't let people help you, so I didn't. That was really stupid of me, I should've known better. Its too easy to be detached from things sometimes. Duo, I'm so sorry." 

Heero was quiet then, giving me some time to process everything that he'd said. It was the single longest period I'd ever heard him talk for, and I didn't really know how to respond. I wasn't sure if he was looking for pity or just letting me know a little about himself so that I'd believe him, but either way it was depressing as hell. I was really stuck for words, and after a too-long silence I felt his stone form shift uncomfortably and his silvery eyes watched me, almost with a tinge of fear. The soft, background chirping of crickets rose to a deafening chorus and I felt the seconds stretch elastically into eons. Heero just watched me as the tension built, and my ever-active, ever-brilliant body moved before I had a chance to decide what I was doing.

I felt myself bend low over him and brush my lips to his in the gentlest of touches. He turned in my lap so that I could reach him better, and met my lips with his own. They were yielding and accepting, becoming a cool, malleable presence that grazed me. I felt his tongue sliding along the line of my lips, so I parted them and he slid gently inside my mouth. Our lips crushed together and I was forced to ignore the throbbing bruise in my own from Karl's earlier ministrations. I also forced myself not to think of that particular person as Heero eagerly stroked my mouth with his tongue. I raised a hand to his cool cheek and felt the softness of his skin beneath my callused fingertips. 

I t was one of the strangest things I had ever experienced; kissing a cool mouth and feeling all the more heated for it. But the act was not erotic or hot, it was almost comforting. I shifted, and gently pushed my way into his mouth. He tasted different from any other person I'd ever kissed, I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was sweeter, and moredrawing? I ran my tongue over his and began to explore his teeth, feeling how deadly sharp the eye teeth were. He tensed at my touching them, and his movements became a little more controlled, a little more rigid, like he was afraid he'd cut me or hurt me. I sensed his discomfort and withdrew, breaking our sealed lips and looking into his eyes. A line of saliva stretched between us for a moment before it thinned into nothing and separated in the middle. I took the hand that was on his cheek and wiped at my mouth, never breaking the intense visual lock I had with him. The silver gleamed a little from within his eyes before he blinked it away and they returned to being purely reflective.

Needless to say, it was even more impossible to speak now than it had been before I'd let stupid teenage hormones get the best of me. I couldn't break out of his gaze. Not that it held any power that kept me from turning away, I just didn't want to. I was afraid that the look of innocence on his face, mixed with a faint glow of happiness would disappear forever if I didn't save it away in my head and tell myself repeatedly that I'd seen it on him. I struggled past the sweet taste of his saliva in my mouth to find words.

"Uhh," I stammered dumbly. That damned voice started to laugh at me, its non-existent chuckles raining through my head in a most belittling way. "Umm, I'm sorry Heero, I didn't meanI don't know where that came from." I tried a disarming smile, but he didn't change. The intense gaze continued to bore through me, with no particular emotion in it. It certainly wasn't threatening, more like a deer in headlights. Surprised, aware, but not really scared. 

It was my turn to shift uncomfortably as he watched my every movement. I couldn't help noticing how animal his whole demeanor had become. I finally reached the point where I couldn't take it anymore. "What!?" I demanded of him. He sat up and turned to me on the windowsill, gentle moonlight painting his face into a mixture of shadow and light, broken by strong silver eyes and a rouge tinge to his lips. He licked them and swallowed, searching me in silence. His bangs fell into his face, cutting a zigzag frame of black-looking locks around his eyes and emphasizing the gentle curves of his face, the fine point of his chin, the pallor of his skin. 

Yeah, he was searching my face, my eyes for something, I was sure of it now. What was he looking for? I began to feel the tiniest tinge of fear as he _crept_ forward, looking less and less human, more and morevampire?  


  



	6. The Vampire Heero; Ch.6

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Six  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

"Um, Heero? What are you looking for? Was it wrong to kiss you? I'm sorry, I won't do it again, I just, I don't know, it just happened, ok?" I babbled nervously as he slid forward on the windowsill, never breaking eye contact with me. 

The retarded voice in my head picked that exact time to lose its cockiness, and my confidence in the short-haired, Japanese boy-ervampire across from me shattered into a million pieces. It was something deeper than fear, more like instinct, but it took me and shook me out, leaving a fragile parody of the God of Death in its wake. I was scared of him, pure and simple. It rattled me to the core, the way he crept forward, barely seeming to move, not making a sound. He was unnatural in the way he balanced. The silver that flashed in his eyes and appeared to glow from within sent a shiver down my spine; it was so cold, so inhuman

"Heero, stop it! You're makin' me nervous, man." I said an a squeaky voice that sounded nothing like my usual brazen tone.

He stopped his advance, freezing, motionless. A little shake of the head and a long blink and the consciousness came back into his eyes, but I was still offset, and quite shaken. I got up, not so much eager to get away from him anymore as being in a hurry to go to sleep. This was probably just a dream, I mean, vampires? 

"Duo, I'm sorry, don't go, I didn't mean to scare you, I justI was dropping some of the masks. I trust you. I won't hurt you, please don't be mad." He sounded so apologetic, the void in his heart showing right through his words, and I knew it must be hard for him to tell me even a little bit about himself. "And, I-about the kissI feel the same way. But I would never have gone anywhere with it, what with the way Karl and his friends have been treating you, and mycondition. Just don't go. I swear I won't hurt you."

The mention of Karl brought an instant tightness to my chest, like I was anticipating him coming to hit me or touch me. I was bothered by it, because it shouldn't be so easy for someone to scare me. But right then I wasn't feeling very tough at all, more like a confused child. I didn't know what to do. Was I scared of Heero or did I want him? Maybe both? And what about KarlI still hadn't decided if I was dirty, because I unintentionally got off on what he did to me, or if I was just some weak little boy because I let him touch me. I mean, its not like I couldn't have stopped him, right? So why

I got the impression that I'd spaced out when Heero's movements caught my eye. He was climbing easily down from the windowsill, coming towards me across the carpeted dorm room, still wearing only a pair of boxers. His skin continued to look pale and unnaturally soft in the now thick beams of moonlight that were lancing through the window, and my breath caught in my throat. 

/It must be some kind of trick./ I thought, /There's no way beauty that ethereal can be solid and touchable and right here in front of me./ I just couldn't understand it, and it was heightened by the fact that he didn't seem aware of it, the way animals don't care that they're naked or children aren't afraid to really laugh when they're amused. It was going to my head too. Downright intoxicating, really, the way he moved like he wasn't moving at all. His hand came up and brushed my cheek.

"Duo, are you really alright? You don't look so good. Why don't you lay down and go to sleep, we have classes tomorrow. And, Idon't want to make you uncomfortable, you probably need some time to think." 

Great, just great. I meet a vampire, and I just happen to have a crush on him, and while I'm oodling his good looks he comes up and point out that I look like shit. Fucking wonderful. I nodded in a bit of a daze and walked over to my bed, mechanically pulling the covers back, slipping in, and snuggling into the soft comfort of pillows. It was a really fuzzy, golden kind of moment, the way I was feeling, like a natural high. I began to drift off into that state just before you actually fall asleep, where everything has a dreamlike quality but you're in complete control. I pictured Heero, as he had been moments before, creeping and single-minded, but imagined that he used those qualities to watch out for me, protect me from Karl and just generally show me that he was dedicated to me. I sank all the way into sleep with exactly that in my mind, Heero protecting me with inhuman strength, but also extreme loyalty. I stirred awake once more however, realizing that I was thinking of him like a little kid thinks of getting a new dog. Heero, my pet vampire. Yeah, I'm sure he'd really appreciate that, I said to myself, turning over onto my side in the bed. 

It had suddenly become too hot, but I was reluctant to leave behind the comforting heaviness of my blankets, so I refused to kick them off. I allowed my eyes to flutter open a crack, and I was startled to see Heero standing over me, just looking at me with a very open, almost childish expression on his face. It reached all the way to the silver in his eyes, which didn't glow so much now, but was still strongly present. I looked up at him and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Heero, why are you watching me sleep?" I asked. It was an honest question, I didn't mean to lead him anywhere in conversation with it, I was only curious. He stayed standing as he answered. The window was still wide open, but he'd drawn the shades halfway over them, so the majority of moonlight was cut off. Looking at the glowing red numbers of my bedside clock, I saw that it was 3:30am, only an hour had passed since I first started talking with him, but it felt like everything that had transpired could not possibly fit in that small time frame. I still couldn't really see him as anything but an exceptionally strong, very single-minded human being, but I suppose I was also getting used to the differences he had chosen to reveal to me, such as his silver eyes, and the unnatural softness of his skin. His whole demeanor changed frequently and seamlessly, so that he had been going through different emotions very rapidly, but I never knew what set off the change. It was confusing.

/No wonder he's usually so emotionless. I'd hide myself too if I were that sensitive./ It baffled me to think that Heero Yuy of allcreatures, hid himself from the world because his emotions were extreme. He'd been doing an excellent job of hiding ever since I'd known him, and this radical change was both a pleasant surprise and a tumultuous disturbance. I feared that I would not be able to satisfy him if he craved affection, attention or even something as simple as a feeling of belonging. What if I ended up depressing him more when he tried to talk to me? I mean, he wasn't even human! How was I supposed to deal with that? I told myself that I'd just have to try my best and ignored a cynical, sarcastic snicker from the voice in that back of my mind and set to listening to why on Earth he was watching me sleep.

"I don't knowI was interested-you'reintriguing to me. You move so much, you're soalive. I was just going to look, I wouldn't touch if you didn't want me to" He trailed off at this and looked down at his hands, which fidgeted with one another in embarrassment. 

I was overcome suddenly by an almost motherly surge of over-protectiveness. I wanted nothing more than to gather him up and press him to me and not let anyone hurt him ever. It was fleeting, but left me with the impression that he was a poor five-year-old kid who'd never had parents and wanted to find out what all his friends were talking about when they said that "mom gives me goodnight kisses and dad plays ball-hockey with me." I smiled warmly up at him from my spot of forgotten discomfort in the bed. He was so timid, nothing like who I knew him as, so very curious and young, but he also had very obviously low self-confidence. 

/It would do some good to let him watch me without having to be secretive about it,/ I thought to myself. "Heero, you don't have to worry so much. I don't mind you watching me. I'm seeing a part of you I never knew existed, because you usually put up a very convincing mask, you know that? I'm intrigued too. And I'm not going to melt if you touch me, I mean I haven't yet, so I think you're pretty safe." I laughed a little at this, his serious mood was really getting to me. There's only so much I take before I'm forced to start deflecting things with humour. I was reaching that point now. It bothered me that I still didn't know anything about him, but I was not the slightest bit afraid of him. I figured if he hadn't eaten me yet, he probably wasn't planning it anytime in the near future.

I tossed over onto my back once more, trying so hard to get cool, but it just wasn't gonna happen. Heero looked at me with what could only be longing in his eyes and I didn't even have to ask what he wanted, because he beat me to it.

"Um Duocould I stay with youin your bed with you? Just for tonight? I won'tbite youor anything I'm-I just" He trailed (it was becoming a habit) and I took the opportunity to pull back the covers and smile broadly.

"Of course, but I do have to sleep, just remember that . This is a purely sleep-oriented stay. You're welcome to join me. Hop in." I couldn't have turned him down, he had this look that was like a kicked puppy. It said "staying with anyone, especially Duo, is a privilege" and that made me think how long it must have been since he'd had this sort of comforting contact with anyone. I mean, if it was such a huge thing, it must have been awhile. 

He climbed shyly into the bed and lay there for a moment in the pale darkness. He huffed a breath and turned over so that his back was to me. I looked at the shape of him in the dim moonlight and touched his shoulder with one hand. It was hard, unyielding and surprisingly cold. Not just cool, but cold. 

"Heero, you don't have to stay all the way over there you know, come a little closer if you want. Actually, you're nice and cool, its refreshing." He turned over, effectively wrapping himself in the sheets, and looked at me hard and long. I slid towards him so that I wasn't quite pressed to his body, and offered a small smile.

"Why aren't you afraid? Why don't you hate me?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

I let my smile turn to a little frown. "Hate you? How could I? I don't really know anything about you, and from what I've seen you're not giving me a reason to. You've shown me nothing but a desire for companionship Heero, all I see is that you're lonely. I don't want you to be lonely, I want to make you happy." I brushed the bangs from his eyes, marveling at how they were just sosilver. I was really weird, even though I'd grown used to it in the last hour or so. The thing that really got me was how cold and hard he was, like stone, but at the same time he was animated and active.

"Well, I want you to know. I don't want you thinking that I'm deserving of anything like companionship. It wouldn't be right to lead you on like that."

"Then tell me all about vampires. Like, for instance, the sunlight thing, and what I've read in books or seen on vids. All about garlic and crosses and all that other stuff. Maybe if you tell me about it, I'll understand. But I still won't hate you, you have to get that through your head. I don't and I won't."

He frowned a little more, like he was disgruntled at my open, optimistic attitude, and began to tell me about himself. "Well, the sunlight thingits strange. I don't like sun or the day at all, actually I hate it, but it doesn't harm me really. I've found that if I spend some time outside at night, then I'm ok the next day, like I can store nighttime or something. It took me that longest time to figure that out, I was sleeping in the dirt all day for about ten years before I figured out that I could handle day time, I mean I was subject to popular belief too. And I had lived on the colonies all my life, so I really had no concept of things like real weather and seasons, or even a night that was so drastically different from the day. How was I supposed to know about all that I could or could not do? I never had anybody to teach me, but that's a different story entirely. I really don't like the sun though, it makes me nauseous, and if I'm not careful I get burns that just won't heal.

All the stuff about garlic and crosses and holy water? Bullshit, plain and simple. Actually, I like churches, they're quiet and the people are accepting. They don't really mind me hanging around for a few hours, I even taught Sunday school to children for awhile, but I had to leave because everyone else grew and changed, and I didn't. It was sad to see the little kids grow up and move on with their lives, it made me close into myself somewhat, because I couldn't stand to watch people change so quickly. It scared me, how fragile they all were. That wasn't the only reason I had to go, however. I remember one particular kid, he was poor and always hungry, and lived at an orphanage, but one day he got adopted. He still came to Sunday school though, and he was just so happy, he really was. Then his adoptive parents were murdered, and him along with them. Just like that, he was gone. I left the church then, it was about time anyway, but I couldn't teach the children anymore, I kept seeing them crushed and broken, just because they were weak. It was really scary. We had a little memorial service for the kid that died, and I started crying. They all sawI _had_ to leave."

Heero paused here, he seemed to be back in the little world of his Sunday school, probably remembering the day he slipped up and cried blood in front of the children. It was a rueful story, and made me feel that way too. I pulled him into my arms, feeling how cold and hard he was, and it only made me sadder, to think that he could never just be with people, to think that he always had to be alone for one reason or another. He tucked his arms close to himself and pushed into my chest, like he was scared and wanted me to make it all better, Again the fear that I wouldn't be able to console him in the least surged, but I ignored it, telling myself that even by listening I was helping him to feel better. I had never seen anything like this from him, the way he was just so completely depressed and childlike. He'd even admitted that he had been scared! His behavior was strange, but it did fit him; I knew he was just being truthful and open. A little sniffle escaped him, and I realized he was crying again. I could feel the wetness of his tears, now that I was aware of it, and looked down to see that, as before, they were dark and bloody. With a gentle hand on his cold, bare back and a soothing tone, I made my best effort to calm him as his sobs rang a little louder and he allowed himself to cry into me.

"Shhhhh, its ok, you're ok Heero. Don't worry so much, there was nothing you could have doneyou can work at a new church, and I'm sure you'd make a lot of people happy. You could do that, if you wanted. What else is upsetting you? I'll listen, I want to."

I rubbed my hand in what I hoped were soothing circles over his back, pleased at the tiny warmth his skin began to adopt. He continued in a broken tone, his sobs lessening only a little so that he could speak.

"I killed so MANY! How many times was I the one that killed that little boy and his family? How many lives have I destroyed? You know what? I counted. Outside of war, its been 63 141 people. _63 141_ !! That many have died to keep me happy. I know I shouldn't count, but I can't help it. That's more than one for every night of this miserable life. And tomorrow it'll be an even bigger number. Every night! I don't absolutely _have_ to eat, but I don't have a choice when I'm right in there. It prevents accidents too. Like today, when I beat Karl to the point that he was bleeding, the temptation was there, but I hate him so much, I was able to stop myself. Had we been alone There are so many different things I could do, I mean, they don't have to die, but its different then, I don't have any control over it. Its likeI don't know, I can't explain it, but I'm not satisfied unless they die. I'm a monster, I HATE THIS!" 

He sobbed more as I thought of what he was actually telling me. Sixty-three thousand, one-hundred and forty-one people. That was a lot. But I had to think, it's been a long time, almost two-hundred years, so most of them would be dead by now anyway. But still

"Heero, calm down, its not your fault, you can't help it. Yeah, it is a lot on your shoulders, especially if you count and even more so if there's no one to talk to, but its not like you went and purposely killed people for the fun of it. You're not like that. Tell me a little more about this." I kept my voice steady and confident, it was the only way I could sound like I wasn't just trying to convince myself. He loosened his grip on my waist somewhat and looked up at me, his cheeks stained with blood that looked dark purple in the moonlight. His sobs stopped in his throat.

"Well, no, I don't just kill people for fun or anything, and I try my hardest to take old, sick people or killers, because the elderly are closer to death anyway, and killing is supposed to be wrong, but who am I to play god and decide who lives or dies? Especially considering my own record, and the way they go. How would you like it if someone stole your blood?"

I had to think about this too. We had unconsciously avoided actually saying 'blood' until now, but I was curious about the topic. If so much of the other vampire hype was nothing more than just that, then was the blood thing the only truth?

"Blood? So that part of vampire superstition is true then. Its blood you need?"

"Yeah, blood. It's the only thing that satisfies, I can eat normal food, but it doesn't do anything, and tastes horrible. Awful stuff, especially the fruits and vegetables. Don't know how you stomach them."

"And only people blood?"

"For some reason, yes. Believe me, I've tried every alternative. I have to drink people blood, or I just can't function. There's no other way." He sniffled some more. I reached over him to the box of tissues on my night table and pulled one out of the box. I used it to blot away his tears with a gentle hand as I continued to rub his back. He closed his eyes and snuggled into me. He wasn't really cold anymore, just cool, so it wasn't uncomfortable to lay with him pressed so tightly against me. I tossed the Kleenex into the trash with a lucky shot and wrapped my arms around him, letting my eyes slide shut. 

"One more question, and then we'll sleep," I said drowsily. "Why did you attack Karl today?"

"He was hurting you, and forcing you to do something that it was obvious you didn't want to do. I was trying to help."

"Thank you." I mumbled, "I'm grateful. I always saw you as being very far away, focussed on bigger things, like saving the world, not me. I've just discovered tonight that you're really a person, not just a machine."

He stiffened ever so slightly, but it was a quick movement, and I chose to ignore it. "But Duo, I'm not a person, not really."

"You are to me. You're a lot more human than guys like Karl. You could have pretty much anything you want, but you don't take it. Instead you work tirelessly to help other people. I'm touched by your actions."

He gave no reply to this, instead he simply let the air of sleep rise in the room and I was almost forced into unconsciousness. I couldn't help noticing how wrong my last few words seemed, now that I thought about it, like I was creating a picture of him in my mind the way I _wanted_ to see it, and was ignoring the awful truths he kept throwing at me.

I was determined to make him happy. I couldn't bear the thought of how lonely his life must have been before now, and although I was still concerned that I wouldn't be an adequate end to his nearly two-hundred years of loneliness, I craved him, craved his affections, and was just generally drawn to him, so that nothing would get in my way. He seemed to have a lot of love to give, but his emotions were all pretty raw. He would be a challenge, but he was definitely worth it.

I placed a few chaste kisses on his hair and face, pulling him tightly into me and letting my protectiveness surge as I finally drifted off.  


  



	7. The Vampire Heero; Ch.7

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Seven  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

  


Morning sunlight lanced through the window and splashed warmly onto my face. I was reluctant to open my eyes and greet the new day, but I knew I would eventually have to drag myself from the safety of my bed very soon whether I wanted to or not. Much sooner than I would have liked. As I've mentioned, I am anything but a morning person.

I shifted in the unusually warm bed, trying to rise, and realized that I was pinned to the bed by a pair of hot, sweaty arms. They were very strong, immovable, really. I stopped squirming and reflected in confusion. What was going on? Pulling back the blankets I was surprised to discover Heero clinging to my waist, holding me tightly in place. His face was twisted into what appeared to be a pained grimace, and his dark hair was matted in clumps to his forehead. A sheen of sweat covered him entirely, soaking into my white bed sheets, staining them a vibrant red. After all, the sweat was blood, which I had come to believe was the only fluid in his body. The skin that had been cool and soft the previous evening was feverish, but he remained soundly asleep despite his condition.

/So it wasn't a dream/ I thought in bewilderment, letting the smooth, surreal memory of the night before sink in a little more solidly. I had no time to think over what had passed between us however, Heero was obviously in poor health. I allowed myself to think back a little, sorting through the various things I'd learned about him, retracing every word that had passed between us. Sunlight did sometimes make him sick, right? He must have ignored his own physical demands to talk with me. 

/Typical Heero, Mr. I Don't Care About Myself, always ignoring his own wants or needs. Dumbass moron. I hope he's ok/

Angry with myself for being ignorant, and feeling just generally disgruntled at his behavior, I wriggled out from his slick arms and quickly pulled the shades over both windows in the room. Then I swung the heavy fabric of the drapes (since when do dorm rooms have drapes??) closed over the shades and hoped it was dark enough for him. It wasn't all that dark though. Now that the room was filled with a yellow glow, I started to feel a little warm, just because of the ambience created by this particular lighting. Looking back down at Heero's face, I saw the tight look soften slightly, but it was far from gone. His teeth were still tightly clenched, tiny fangs showing ever-so-slightly through drawn lips. 

I wondered what else I could do and made my way over to him, placing a hand on the skin of his forehead. It was so hot that I had to remove my hand because it was uncomfortable and unsettling; He was burning up. No human body could have remained alive at that temperature, something was very wrong.

"Heero, wake up." I said in a quiet but urgent tone, shaking his shoulder with one hand. He groaned from deep within his chest and his eyes fluttered open. I saw that they were especially silver and very luminescent, so that not even a tiny bit of the natural colour showed through and they glowed softly in the semi-darkness. The eyes quickly snapped shut and he rolled over, burying his face in my soft pillows and groaning again. The section of sheets he'd been laying directly on top of were soaked clear through with blood, but I really didn't care about the sheets, I just wanted him to be ok. The voice in my head stayed wisely silent as my concern began to lean towards fear.

His voice came from somewhere in the pillows, muffled, but I could still hear him enough to tell that he was distraught. "Duo, could you shut the drapes? The sunits too bright, I can't see anything."

"Heero, the drapes _are_ shut. What's wrong with you?" I hoped it wasn't anything serious. 

Heero pulled the blankets up to cover his head, even as he continued to talk through the pillows. "I'm just feeling a little sick. I didn't spend enough time outside last night. But I'll be fine, don't worry. I can't die, remember? And there's nothing you can do unless you have a few pints of blood, which you don't. HnI'm fine."

I was a little surprised by his light attitude, I mean, normally, it would be a serious 'hn' and a suppressed groan, I didn't expect him to admit the pain. It must be really bad for him to actually say it. I figured he felt like death warmed over, and if blood would help him feel better, then I was going to do everything I could to force him to find some. However, maybe there were some alternatives

"How about if I make it really dark in here? I'm sure you'll feel at least a little better. Man, I'd never have figured you for one to actually admit you needed something. Much less admit pain. Don't worry, I'll cover both windows right up."

I went around the room and used the blankets off of Heero's bed and my own to cover the windows even more. The fabric was thick, and both were a dark shade of blue, so most of the light was gone after I had put them up. I had to turn on a bedside lamp just to see where I was going. At least Heero seemed not to mind the artificial light, but he still wouldn't get up, and now he was laying on my bed wearing only his light blue boxers. Everything was soaked with blood. The thin shorts had become all but transparent, and my sheets were stained red permanently. It was disturbing to see him laying there in a soaked up puddle of his own blood and not be overly concerned. Had I walked in on this scene the day before, I would have called an ambulance in a second and have him rushed off to the hospital, with a lingering hope that he'd still be alive after losing so much of life's precious fluid. 

/Jesus, he's really a vampire/ I still couldn't really think of it like it were true. It was far away from me, like I was watching him in a vid or something, and although it was based on a true story, I didn't really think it had happened, or at least it hadn't sunk in. At the same time I was in awe of him, the way he managed to look sounearthly. Like he had fallen out of Heaven or something. Even as he was, sick and unhappy, I was drawn to him with inexplicable force. I wanted more than anything to lick him clean, but resisted the urge by biting the inside of my cheek to force myself to focus.

"Hnthank you." Heero said in a soft voice that only made me want him more. It was strange to hear those words from him-'thank you' had not, according to me, been in his vocabulary until today. It sounded good.

"No problem buddy," I said with a huge, grin as I watched him turn over and get up off the bed. He was indifferent to his state of near-undress, and bent to pull the sheets off the bed, presumably so he could dispose of them. I bounded over to where he was and sidled up right beside him, attempting to pull the sheet deftly from his hand. I was yanked back by my own arm as I began to spring away, because he had the sheets in his iron grip, and had not allowed his arm to move when I pulled. I fell backwards into him, and was unpleasantly surprised to find his skin still unnaturally hot. I stared into his mirrored eyes and let a little frown accompany my furrowed brows as I scolded him even while he kept me from falling on my ass. It was strange to look up at him, because he appeared upside down from the way he held me with his arms under my armpits.

"Heero! You're still all feverish and sweaty! That is not good! Bad vampire! Seriously though Heero, go take a cold shower or something, this can't be normal." Boldly, my mouth continued before I'd given it authority to do so, and I suspected that the voices in my head were just taking me over and controlling me again. I was getting used to it. "And while you're in there," I watched myself say, "I could join you to make sure that you're better before you get out" the little voice trailed knowingly and drew a huge smile across my face. I almost died of embarrassment. The only thing I got from the stupid fucking voices was a laugh, but Heero had taken them seriously, and was already heading towards the bathroom after disposing of the stained sheets in a big garbage bag.

"Good idea, but I don't think you want to join me, unless you can stand freezing cold water. I don't use any hot at all, sorry." He looked at me strangely, like he was both amused and wistful, the turned his head and went into the small room, shutting the door softly but firmly behind him. I noticed that he didn't turn on a light, even once I could hear the water drumming down onto the molded plastic wall as it sought out the drain.

Sighing to myself, I continued to make the bed, thankful that none of his blood had soaked into my mattress. /Who would want to shower in freezing cold water in the dark? Maybe its better that I don't shower with him. Crazy bastard/ I thought to myself as I hummed and drew a fresh set of sheets over the bed. A snicker in the back of my mind told me that I wasn't as alone with my thoughts as would have liked.

/What do _you_ want?/ I demanded of the annoying voice that had rightfully earned my hatred and my dependence, although I had no idea how long it had been present. I repeatedly told myself that until it told me its name, I did not need a visit to the loony bin, although I probably belonged there anyway.

/Nothing, but I know _who_ you want!/ It snickered again, and I promptly told the voice to go fuck itself. It added some remarks about who it thought I'd like to fuck and retreated once more into wherever it came from. That made me grumpy. Why the hell should I have to have voices in my head?! Didn't I have enough to worry about with saving the world, dealing with Karl and trying to help my stubborn friend who just so happened to be a vampire? Yeah, so I do that whole self-pity thing a lot. I'm a pessimist sometimes, and I think the whole world's trying to fuck with me, whaddy'a expect me to do? 

~~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later found me flipping through a manga on my freshly made bed, anxiously awaiting breakfast. I was starved! I was running a list of all the things I'd like to eat through my head, and to put it simlpy, I was not expecting Heero to come out of the tiny washroom. In fact, I'd completely forgotten him, and when he opened the squeaky door I jerked up and almost yelped. I wasn't that into the manga, but Heero was quite possibly the farthest thing from my mind. Its strange how easy he is to forget when he's gone, like he's never existed, but when he's around he's the only thing I can focus on. That thought stuck in the back of my mind as I stared dumbly at him. Well, what did he want me to do?! He was stark naked, and apparently vampires react differently to freezing cold water than most men. Rather, they don't react at all. I was suddenly very glad I hadn't showered with him. Jesus, that would have been embarrassing. I can see it now: Mr. Raisin meets Mr. Indifferent! Yeah, so Rule Number One: don't take cold showers with vampires. And a helpful reminder: quit staring you dumbass!

I jerked away from him and got up, pretending to be oh so busy putting the manga away as he made his way lazily to his dresser to put on clothes. I thought over how badly I'd failed my attempt not to stare. It was simply impossible to avert my eyes from his gorgeous form, rippling with muscle and all swathed in the smoothest taut skin. He certainly wasn't lacking. Anywhere. I sincerely hoped he'd hurry up and change because I was getting hard, and I had to resist jumping him. It had occurred to me that I didn't even know if he could, umin the same manner as most people. I knew he was attracted to me, but for him did that just mean that he wasn't going to kill me? I had no idea, and I wasn't even close to being comfortable enough with what I'd only just learned about him to just ask outright. I guess I'd have to wonder for now. I hoped I'd at least get a little action.

My back was turned to him, and I realized that I hadn't heard anything out of him in a few minutes, not so much as one footstep, so I started talking to him, not turning around, and not really sure where to direct my voice. "Feeling better?"

"Much," he said with a smile in his voice from right behind me. I whirled around, braid flying, to find him fully clothed and baring an expression that was as close to a malicious grin as I had ever seen Heero Yuy get. I hadn't even suspected that he was behind me. So now he was a Crazy bastard and a Sneaky fucker too.

"You did that on purpose! Moron" I muttered. The smile was something I really wasn't used to, especially this one, because it showed his tiny, finely pointed fangs, but managed to make him look like an innocent little boy. It was totally priceless. I moved slowly into the circle of his arms, fighting the urge to pour chocolate syrup all over him an lick it off. Wonder how he'd react if I did that

My eyes widened in surprise as he slid his hands along my back over top of my shirt. "You'revery cold Heero. Is that healthy?" I caught his gaze in concern. His eyes were their normal, deep-sea prussian, but they had a sparkly luminescence to them, made me feel like I was special in his eyes. It was a good feeling.

He softened his features and pulled me close to him, surrounded me in chill arms and torso. "I'm fine Duo, I don't feel things like cold or pain the same way that you do. I prefer to be a little cool most of the time, but I was so hot before that I wanted to cool down completely to feel better. You're hungry. Let's go to the caf and eat."

It occurred to me that he must be hungry too, especially because of how much blood he'd sweated off, but he couldn't eat anything where we were going. It was so strange to be pressed against him and how alive he was, but to have his body completely hard, skin icy cold.

And along came Rule Number Two. 

  



	8. The Vampire Heero; Ch.8

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Eight  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

"Aren't you hungry too? Isn't there anything you can eat?" I asked Heero seriously as he tried to usher me out the door into the hall. Right, like I was gonna believe him if he said 'no' anyway

"No, Duo, I'm fine. I ate last night, remember? I can wait until tonight to eat again, but I'm going to the caf with you just in case Karl's there."

I really hated the authority in his voice, like _really_ hated it, but mostly I was thinking how bad it'd suck to only have one meal a day. I never did know when to shut up. I felt how cold his hands were around my body and I just could not accept that he didn't mind being that way. It was soweird! He was freezing!

"Heero, there is no way you're gonna be able to watch out for me all the time! Just because you're all strong and immortal doesn't mean I can't take care of myself! I've made it this far, haven't I? And besides, you cannot go out of yer way for me on missions, so don't do it here! I won't have it, 'specially when you don't even take care of yourself!"

He glared at me, moving back into Soldier Mode and letting go of me to cross his arms characteristically over his chest. "You're stuck with me, let's go."

*growl!*

"What the hell was that?" I wasn't sure where it'd come from, but the low rumble that I heard was definitely real. I spun around to look him in the eyes and saw that they still sparkled blue, but they were focussed on the floor, despite his authoritative tone and stance. 

"Nothing." He took my hand and gently pulled me towards the door and him, still looking at the floor. He wasn't forcing me, I could easily get out of his grip if I wanted to, but the way he kept hiding himself, his strength, it made me doubt what he was at all, regardless of the proof I'd accumulated. I wanted to see the _real_ proof.

*GROWL!*

"What the fuck!? Is that your stomach? You said you weren't hungry! So now you're finding reasons to _lie_ to me!? I really can't believe this!"

I was upset that he'd brushed off his own needs and lied about being hungry. I was more upset that he'd 'informed' me of his new status as bodyguard, especially when he _knew_ I could take care of myself! I was sick of looking like a wuss, I really didn't need his help. And the way he acted like he had to hide his strength and his nature, it was really getting to me. I want to see who he is, not who he can pretend to be! Couldn't he understand that?

"-worry about it Duo, I'm fine. I eat almost every day, and I'm always hungry anyway. It really doesn't matter, I can't die, remember?"

"Don't you ever want a snack though?"

"Hnyou want me to 'snack' on my classmates? Duo, I can't just-" He began to move to the door once more and I stopped him with a curt tug on his wrist. He turned in surprise and looked into my eyes with a confused, ticked off glare. My brilliance never ceases to amaze me.

"Can you drink from someone without killing them?" I was genuinely curious, but I also had an idea. A terribly predictable, stupid fucking idea.

"Duo, lets go." He was ignoring my question, most likely because he'd seen through my ingenious plan, and was really not liking it so much as I wished he would.

"No. Why don't you snack on me? If you can do it without killing me then go ahead!" 

I offered him my bare wrist. He shut his eyes tight and swallowed very deliberately, pushing my extended arm back towards me. He became very tense, and I could see the way any part of his body that had previously been lax was now held consciously taught, so that he became entirely muscle and stone. 

"Don't be stupid, lets go."

I just refused to quit. I was really set on this whole thing, so I asked him again if he could drink without killing me, and he nodded solemnly. I wonder why he didn't just lie about it? Either way, I probably would've done what I wanted, but it was strange that he didn't do anything more to convince me it was pointless? Maybe Soldier Boy _does_ have some weaknesses. I pulled my knife from my boot and quickly slashed a clean line into my wrist, wincing at the pain as it blossomed in my arm and staring in morbid fascination as a fat droplet of blood welled up from my wrist and then slid thickly down my skin. It was like a signal, because the cut suddenly began to bleed profusely, the blood all but splashing outward, and very quickly there was a river of red staining everything in sight. I shoved my bleeding arm in his face.

Heero lurched back immediately as if burned, his throat working audibly. Smacking his lips together and swallowing gulps of fresh air, he continued to stagger backwards on shaky feet. Eyes squeezed tightly shut, he pressed himself into the wall and covered his face with his hands, mumbling into them in a barely audible tone. I could make out something about control and how I was his friend, but it was quickly lost. He ran one hand through his hair while the other snaked down to his stomach and clenched at the tight muscle there. His eyes remained plastered shut, but his mouth was now open, and I could see frothy red saliva pooling around his tongue as he struggled to keep it from leaking onto his chin. A small trail of the stuff escaped him, and it slipped from the left corner of his lips and ran over his perfect skin before he wiped it away with his hand.

I felt a twang of light-headedness, but steeled my resolve and made my way over to him. Even I could smell the metallic scent of my blood as it leaked down my arm and dribbled onto the floor from my elbow. I gently coaxed him to open his eyes, and they were a thick silver, reflecting the red of my blood as he stared at it momentarily then somehow managed the strength to pull away. He looked right at me, and I saw a frightening war in those glimmering, luminescent eyes; it was a cross between a frightened deer that is surrounded by wolves, and the head wolf, snarling viciously through wild, ravenous hunger.

"Heero, please, drink a little," I said, somehow remaining unafraid. I was clinging to the belief that he would not really hurt me, although I was starting to feel the barest tinge of fear. That look, the savage appetite, it was definitely scary. 

His voice came out frantic, high pitched between animal growls and heavily rasped breaths. "Duo! Go away! I can't control myself, I'll kill you! Go away now!" The blood tears had started up again, and they streaked across his skin in tiny red rivers. If I hadn't been doing anything else, I could have spent an hour just watching the queer way his tears fell then dried up and turned into nothing, but I was a little occupied at the moment. He looked like a rabid animal, ready to attack. He was exactly that.

"Don't deny yourself happiness Heero, I'm not leaving." I planted my feet firmly on the floor. He was presently hunched over, breathing hard, both hands clenching his stomach now, and the tears fell. At my words, he looked up at me, standing to his side, and his face wrenched as he struggled to speak. 

"I'msorry," he rasped, then lunged at me, hitting me in the chest and knocking me to the floor. He was sitting on my chest, twisting my bleeding arm painfully as he bent to lick up the blood that had gushed down to my elbow. A little pink tongue stuck out and neatly lapped away, tickling my skin as it stroked upwards, to my wrist. The cold shock I had received when his still-icy hands gripped me tight, faded to a dull pulse of slight, far away discomfort as I watched him avidly. It was interesting, and I'm not kidding! He was literally drinking up my blood! I couldn't get over this, and before he even reached the actual wound, I was grinning like an idiot and sitting as still as possible so he could drink comfortably. His weight was nothing on my chest, in fact I think he must have weighed less than eighty pounds, but I couldn't move past his iron strength.

I felt a rough jerk on my arm, and snapped back to what he was doing in time to see his lips close gently over the tear I'd made in my skin. I felt pain, unmasked, as he sank those innocent-looking little fangs into my wrist and sealed his lips around the enlarged wound. He sucked. Hard.

I was swept up with fear as I felt the strength in his pull. It was anything but natural, in fact, it was almost mechanical. He just sucked, and I could feel my insides searing with pain as my blood went to the now numbing cut on my arm and poured into his mouth. I couldn't make myself scream aloud, but I inhaled sharply, and from there began to hyperventilate. It hurt so much! Like somebody was tracing the whole inside of my body with razors, and I felt tears spring to my eyes and trickle dejectedly down my cheeks. I was locked into one solid moment of pain, and there was no escaping it. My head began to feel heavy as I inhaled more deeply from the fear and agony. 

Just as I thought I would pass out from the pain of having my life sucked out of me, a wave of heat sped down my arm and rippled lightly over every part of my body, tickling my veins from the inside out as it went. I moaned in a thickly heated manner and felt my body stop its resistance. I was suddenly swimming through an ocean made of pleasure and happiness. I think I giggled when Heero twisted my arm once more, and I let my vision go completely out of focus. I was seeing pretty colours race under my eyelids as my body shuddered from the intensely erotic pleasure it experienced. The pain was forgotten only moments after it had been so terrible, simply because this heat was more powerful. I couldn't lift my arms anymore, I had lost so much blood that I couldn't really do much of anything but listen to my breaths rasp in and out as the thrum of my heartbeat got slower and slower in my ears. I could feel my eyelids drooping, but I wasn't sure if they were already shut or not. My lips were caught between being slack, if slightly smiling, and silently gaping open as I laughed without voice. A white light flashed brightly, and I was weightless as the most intense feelings yet passed through me and I slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
My last thought was that I had never thought it possible to smile so broadly, despite the silly grin on my lips.  


  



	9. The Vampire Heero; Ch.9

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Nine  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

Pain.

As consciousness stirred into me, I felt the sharp pulse of what must have been the very worst headache I'd ever experienced. I felt like every hangover I'd ever had was back with a vengeance. Smacking my lips together, I found my mouth dry and scratchy, like I'd licked hot, dusty pavement. It tasted sour. I tried to move and my head pounded, blood rushing to my temples in fat bursts and flushing white across my closed eyelids.

My stomach was lurching, turning, bubbling thickly. It felt full and heavy, tingling with nauseous contempt. I tried to swallow, found I could, but only a little, and it hurt. I groaned and tried not to throw up, begging wordlessly for water and relief from the pain. I groaned, shifting ance more. Again pain sparked in my head, confusing and nauseating my body. I wanted to throw up, but I needed water. I dreaded opening my eyes, but steeled my resolve and did it anyway, moving as little as possible, pleading mercy with the searing hurt in my body.

At first I couldn't see anything, the white static of pain roaring over my other senses. I closed my eyes again, and the white began to subside, but only very slowly. A quiet shuffling somewhere in the room sounded like trees crashing down on each other in a forest. Then Heero's voice sliced a clean, fresh level of pain through my mind, effectively brining the bile up from my stomach, almost strongly enough that I vomited. I was able to push it down, but the acidic taste did not escape me.

"Duo, you're awake, how are you feeling?"

I opened my mouth to answer, my tongue a thick weight between my jaws. I swear I could hear it knocking against my teeth as I struggled to speak. I managed to rasp, "Never better. What the hell happened," in a voice that was a cruel parody of my own.

A glass of cool, refreshing water was pressed to my lips. As I sucked down a few mouthfuls, I began to feel better. The water quickly crept down my throat and with it so did relief from the terrible pain. 

I remembered what had happened, why I was lying here, dehydrated past all reasonable explanation. The way I'd played on Heero's weakness, and veritably forced him to attack me, it was wrong. I mentally kicked myself; I should be glad to be alive! What a dumb powergame it was to do what I did, the was no apologizing for it. /Stupid! Why the hell did I do that??!!/ Now Heero would probably run away from me, thinking that _he'd_ lost control and couldn't be trusted, when really it was my fault. Until that moment, I didn't think it was possible to actually do something _that_ stupid. Lets see, what did I think was gonna happen if I shoved my bleeding arm in the face of a hungry vampire? I would have eaten me, I don't blame him. 

Clearly, the voices in my head would have eaten me too, I could hear a quiet chuckle in the back of my mind, as they laughed at me. Well, it was really only one voice, but you get the picture. I glared internally at whatever part of my mind was having a jolly old time at my expense and turned my concentration outward once more.

Heero had been reduced to apologizing once more. "-so sorry! I justthe blood, and I couldn't stop! God Duo, I could have KILLED you! I am _so sorry!!_" 

/What a mess!/

I worked up my mind, although it was still really fuzzy from being unconscious, and was mostly shrouded in thick white pain. "Heero, its not your fault, it can't be. I wasn't thinking, and I tempted you with something that is beyond your control. So you see, it really isn't your fault at all. That was extreme stupidity on my part, and I'm the one who should be apologizing, not you. Heero, I'm so sorry."

I forced myself to sit up and open my eyes. My head felt way too heavy, and the whole world tilted at a funny sideways angle for a few seconds before it settled into something comprehensible. Heero sat on his bed all the way across the room, hugging his knees tightly to him. He had his back pressed against the wall, and was staring at me through wide blue eyes. There were a few traces of dried red tears on his cheeks, just tiny scarlet streaks that shoed he'd been crying. Even as I watched, they flaked off, turned to invisible dust, and were gone. He looked more like a kicked puppy or a lost child than a soldier and vampire. My heart sank, and I immediately wanted to hug him and put a blanket over his shoulders and tell him not to be afraid. It still shocked me that somebody so much older than me could be so underexposed and innocent, especially considering his past. I really didn't know almost anything about it, but I knew that it was mostly not a happy time to remember. I had done this to hem, and it was my job to fix my stupid mistakes.

/God, I am such a fucking DUMBASS!!/

"Will you come sit on the bed with me Heero, I-"

"NO! I'll hurt you again!" 

Even his face was childlike, matching the panicked, frantic pitch in his normally firm, monotone, and the way he was fearfully curled into a little ball on his bed. I couldn't stand to see how much damage my actions had caused him. It was horrible! I wanted to draw him into my arms and chastely kiss away his deep sorrow, but it appeared he'd be crushed under the gentlest fingertips.

It was frightening and extremely disturbing to see someone normally so strong and cool reduced in this way. He was completely crushed, the cool liquid stone of his form trembling violently in fear of its own power.

I swung my legs over the side of my bed and got to my feet, swaying drunkenly as I waited for the room to stop spinning, and wobbled over to him, sitting heavily on the edge of the bed. I brought one hand up, slowly, the way one lets an animal smell them before touching it, and carefully brushed his bangs away from his eyes. Inching closer, I pried his now lax form from against the wall and gathered him into my weak arms. He let me, but shook in my loose embrace. I think he was afraid to move, lest he accidentally hurt me. I brought one hand in soothing caresses over his back, and stroked his silken dark hair with my other. Heero squeezed his eyes shut and shrank into my chest, pressing his head over my heart and biting his lower lip quietly as he struggled not to cry.

My heart proceeded to crumble into tiny bits and fall out of my chest from sorrow. I hated myself even more than I had before, and tried to stifle my own tears by kissing his hair and the back of his neck, now cupping his cheek in my hand and running my thumb over his soft skin. I forced myself to stay composed, despite my pounding head and aching heart. If I broke down, even shed a single tear, he'd fall apart and turn to dust it seemed. Absently, I wondered if he really would turn to dust someday.

"Its ok Heero, I'm ok. Everything's fine." I gently brought his face up in my palm, so that he was looking into my eyes. I saw that there were a few stray red tracks over his cheeks, fresh crimson stains to mar his beautiful face. I kissed him on the lips, not even trying to pry his mouth open, just giving him the assurance that I was ok through the small gesture. I hoped he would understand, and maybe find the strength to believe he wasn't a monster. After a few moments he pulled slowly away, bowing his head a little and closing his eyes again.

"Stop punishing yourself. I don't like to see you hurting, especially for my dumb actions. Please try not to cry anymore Heero."

One shiny blue-silver eye peeked open, then the other, and he nodded, sniffling and taking my hand from his cheek, squeezing it very carefully in both of his.

"Duo?" he asked in a tiny voice, "Could you not dowhat you didcould you not bleed like that anymore? At least around me? Please?"

He looked at me fearfully, pleadingly; as if asking me not to bleed around him if I could help it was a huge privilege or request. I laughed, feeling my face melt easily into a hearty smile, It was a real smile, not just the plastic grin for once. The voices in my head muttered about my choice in guys as I crushed him t me in a bear hug. He didn't hug back, but I saw his tears had stopped, and a small, grateful smile appeared on his lips.

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson, no more feeding the vampires. Got it."

He accepted this quietly, slipping out of my embrace and standing. He turned around and placed a hand on my chest, pushing me smoothly down on his bed. He yanked the covers from under me and pulled them up, until they reached my chin. The bed didn't smell like blood as I'd expected it to, rather it was fresh and clean, with only a light, musky scent mingled with that of wildflowers and earth. Not a normal, human kind of smell, but certainly agreeable. Heero kinda smelled that way too, although I think his scent came from his clothes and whatever he was around, not his actual body.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm taking care of you. I can't give you your blood back, but I could help you make more and get some rest. You'll get sick if you don't. Stay there. I'll be back in a few minutes."

His whole demeanor had changed instantly, from being scared and vulnerable to authoritative and commanding. He was in control again, making up for his little breakdown by forcing me to let him nurse me back to health. Even his posture changed. He left no room for argument in his command for me to rest, and ducked out of the room without looking back.

A few minutes later Heero came back in the doorway balancing the most thickly heaped tray of food I'd ever seen balanced on one hand. I was literally fed (he wouldn't let me eat by myself) an array of things, from soup to fruit to chicken and lime Jell-O for desert. I let him feed me mostly because I knew It would make him happy, but it was kind of nice.

When I couldn't fit another bite in my mouth, he stopped and took the food away. He must have just set it on the floor beside the bed, but I couldn't smell all the different foods, so I'm not sure if it was there. My eyes were sliding sleepily shut, although I tried my hardest to keep them open. The bed dipped and the covers were drawn back as he slid in beside me and wrapped his arms around me once more. Cool, smooth, liquid stone surrounded me, pressed firm but gentle to my side. I could hear him breathing, and felt his heart beat slowly in his chest. Like before, I felt so safe in his arms, it was easy to close my eyes and drift off to sleep. 

Instead, I squirmed in his embrace and turned myself around so I was facing him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my lips to his, this time slipping my tongue into his mouth for a deep drink of him. 

There was nowhere in the world I would have wanted to be, except for right there beside him. He filled every yearning I had for comfort and stability, despite our strange and hectic lifestyle. I could have cried, feeling so complete as I lay with him, and it occurred to me, as I drifted between consciousness and sleep, that I loved him. 

  



	10. The Vampire Heero; Ch.10

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Ten  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

Around lunchtime I came out of a restful nap filled with soft dreams only half remembered, and realized that I was ravenously hungry despite everything I'd eaten only hours earlier. I woke Heero with a firm kiss to his sweet lips. He sat up and wrapped his arms around me, then kissed me properly, but efficiently. 

"Lay back down; I'll go get you some lunch."

"No, Heero, you're too motherly! I can walk. And I can go to the big bad caf all by myself. Honest! But you can come along to keep me company if you want." I grinned at him, and my stomach growled impatiently. "Besides, we've both spent way too long holed up in this sunless, airless little room. Lets get out of here."

He looked at me queerly for a second, and I could just see him thinking that he liked the room airless, and especially sunless, but he pushed whatever he was musing over away and got up with a determined, businesslike set on his strong features. He stood out vibrantly against the room's austere décor, and I swear there was a smile on his lips. His eyes sparkled blue, the silver luminescence barely detectable. I got up and went over to the bathroom to make sure I didn't look too bad and straightened out my clothes a little. Heero had donned a thick black sweatshirt with a hood on the back and a pocket in the front. I thought he looked almost normal wearing that thing, even though it was way too warm out for it. Why the hell should he care if he's warm? I thought he'd be more comfortable that way anyway.

I slipped my hand into his as we started down the hall. He squeezed gently. His skin was warmer than usual, and he seemed to be ok. I really wanted Heero to know that I was sorry, and I that I wasn't in the least bit scared of him. I still felt like I'd kicked a puppy, but he seemed to have forgotten the whole incident.

However much he'd gained in strength and speed and whatever else as a vampire, he must have become somewhat simpler too. Emotions were a raw extreme for an instant, and then they were almost gone, only seconds later. This kinda explained why he cried so easily and so often; his pain was built up over an impossibly long time, and he was only now learning to confront it or express it. I told myself that patience was mandatory if I was to was to remain close to him. And I _definitely_ wanted to be with him. No matter what I had to go through, I figured it would be worth it if only I could be close to, and get inside of this complex creature. I wanted to teach him love and warmth, and maybe even happiness. Simple things like walking hand in hand down a deserted hallway now brought me more happiness than I could ever remember feeling. It was wonderful in a peaceful, quiet, comfortable way. Heero filled me in all the right places, and I steeled my resolve to get him through whatever it took to weaken his guilt.

~~~~~~~~~~

We walked into the caf and I immediately went over to the most deserted part of the giant room to sit at one of the long tables. Heero parted, however reluctantly with me, to stand in line and get me some food. He was wary about leaving me alone, but I argued fiercely that I didn't want to stand pointlessly in line when I could save us a seat at one of the tables, and that I wasn't a child, regardless of how much older than me he was. After a few more points as to why I could sit all by myself, he complied and parted with me, dropping a slight kiss on my cheek as he left.

Despite my nap, I realized that I was still feeling tired and drained, and my headache had returned. I put my head gingerly on my folded arms and tried to ignore the general din of the room, caused by the bustling array of students who all barked raucously at one another. I began to regret being so insistent that I was ok after sitting at the table for a good ten minutes. My head really hurt! I stared at the wall ahead of me, feeling blood pulse under through my temples and circulate through my throbbing head. My eyes felt dim and tired. They fluttered closed briefly. 

Where was Heero? He'd been gone for nearly twenty minutes by now, and the wait in line for food usually took about ten. Maybe fifteen if it was busy. I looked towards the other end of the caf, where only a few teenagers waited for food. I studied the people and could not see Heero. Alarm sparked up in my chest, where was he? /Did I miss him through all the other people in this room? No, I could see everyone clearly, and he's been gone for way too long, oh shit/

I started to think of where he could be, absently scanning the other people in the room to see if maybe he was making his way through them and told the panic rising in my chest to go away. /He's immortal, its not like someone could hurt himcould they?/ I bit my lip and stood up slowly, feeling dizzy and lost. /He should have been here, am I going nuts?/ The noise blurred in my head and insisted that I was anything but sane.

A thick hand slapped onto my shoulder and squeezed, roughly turning me to meet Karl's heavy chest pressed almost to my back. I hadn't even heard him coming. I squeaked before I had a chance to stop myself and tried to duck out of his grasp. He wouldn't let go of me, in fact the hand tightened, and I swear I could feel my bones crunch together with a slow grinding whine. His face was a mess of white bandages and he had one arm in a sling, but he still managed to grin evilly down at me, the yellow of his teeth pronounced by the blaring white of the bandages. Karl's breath was hot, reeking of foul decay and ripe mold. He ground his teeth into one another, and looked for all the world like he was going to bite me. 

I shivered and glanced to where Heero was so glaringly absent, my fearful shudders threatening to hinder my ability to stand. I bit my tongue in my chattering, trying to tell myself that fear was stupid and weak and..and..it was unavoidable. There was no way out. Heero wasn't here to save me from this monster anymore, and I was getting a very horrible feeling about it. Had I not spent years training under Professor G? Wasn't I stronger than this? And if I gave Heero anymore reasons to watch over me, I'd be under his relentless attention for the rest of my life. I had to be strong herebut I wasn't doing very well. I cowered unintentionally when Karl's voice growled low, and he began to speak in a cruel, commanding tone..

"Hey there slut, I figured I'd finish what we started the other day, when your friend 'accidentally' interrupted us. I'm sure he's very sorry now, he shouldda left us alone."

A group of tough, well-known bullies had surrounded Karl, flanking him and watching over the proceedings with avid interest. Some of them chuckled to themselves, and I almost laughed at the ugly display of brainless amusement, but I was trying to control my bladder, which had decided maybe peeing myself was a good idea. So far I was winning the battle, but I feared it would be a long war. There were both men and women, and one very thickly built woman with a short black crew cut and squinty little eyes stepped forward, bringing her massive breasts and dirty overalls way too close to my face. She actually _piched_ my cheek and smiled before giving it a little slap.

"Don't worry Duo, we'll take good care of you. Wanna see your friend? Come with us." She grinned wide and wicked, stepping back to give four huge guys room to take my arms and secure me in their grasp. The two that held most of me were even bigger than Karl, but didn't look quite as mean. That wasn't saying very much, they were nasty fuckers, and all I wanted to do was get away. Self defense had evaporated into something intangible. I whimpered dejectedly and let myself be half dragged, half marched out of the caf. That really made me scared.

If whatever these goons had planned was too sick and perverted to be witnessed by the passive students at the school, then I was in for something more severe than I'd thought. The fear was becoming a horrible, uncontrollable thing, but I hoped that I would at least be able to keep the goons and especially Karl from seeing itthat was up near the top of my list of Things-I-Don't-Want-To-Happen-Ever. I was silent and co-operative as the beast-like, muscular men (ok, they were probably just a little older than me, but they were just so massive and tall that I could only see them as men) 'guided' me along.

After winding through a few random hallways, we ended up in the muddy grass field that lay behind the school complex. It was bright and sunny, but as the day waned, it had become too cool to be outside minus a jacket, and the sun was quickly approaching the trees that would hide it just before it sank completely out of view and night settled in. I was brought through deep puddles and rotted, moldy grass towards a thick wall of gnarled old pine trees that marked school boundaries. My breath caught in my throat at the stench of the field, and I could only think that Karl must eat this sludge for breakfast, lunch and dinner; his breath was identical. The goons managed to 'drop' me on my face a few times, so I was horribly disheveled and very cold by the time we all made it through the grass. My braid dripped and my bangs clung to my face, mimicking my clothes as the stuck to the rest of my body.

Upon entering the treeline, I noted the drastic drop in temperature and was not pleased to hear my teeth chattering in my skull. The sunshine barely penetrated the thick sweep of prickly canopy, much less did it provide any sort of warmth or comfort. At least it was dry, but I was far too wet and cold to feel it. Debris from previous seasons littered the earth beneath my feet and all around the small band formed by Karl, his goons, and myself. Pine needles, branches covered in fungus, a few actual leaves, and lots of bark formed the thick carpet I was dragged through. 

The further we went into the trees, the more I feared. If my captors had actually coaxed Heero out here, then I was in for nothing short of gang rape and murder. My heart began to knock against my ribs and everything seemed cooler, even to my already numbing body. I worried at the soft flesh inside my mouth, tearing it some and letting the small pain distract me from what was actually happening. The fear had gained a life and personality of its own, wrapping tight around me and squeezing. I could barely breathe anymore!

That's when I heard the first crack of a whip and the painful silence that followed.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, forgetting my fear for an all-too-brief moment. Karl turned to me, leering gleefully.

"That's your whore friend's punishment. I've had enough of you; I'll find a new fuck toy. In fact, I already have someone in mind First, I'm gonna get rid of you and your friend just for fun. I like to have fun, Maxwell. And I won't have to worry about you anymore; you'll both be dead and gone; nobody's going to find you. Ever."

He grinned now, and I was filled with horror at the gleam in his eyes. He was a killer, and I would not be his first victim. I'd seen this look in people before, and it always chilled me straight through. I was already frozen, so I just shook harder in the thick grasp of my captors.

Another crack of the whip sounded. A woman laughed, mercilessly. Suddenly the situation had gone from bad to worse.

/Oh god, Heero please be ok. You still have to save me! Andneed you/

I was dragged into a clearing, and what I saw before me made me want to scream and cry hysterically.  


  



	11. The Vampire Heero; Ch.11

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Eleven  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

Heero was on his hands and knees, naked in the low light under the trees. His whole back and rear were covered in slowly healing slashes make by a whip. There was one of Karl's lackeys, a mad woman with wild red hair and small brown eyes, cracking the whip to Heero's backside over and over with the determination of someone with nothing left to lose. She cackled madly at his silence, and it was all I could do not to rush forward and yank the whip out of her hand. However, in her other hand she held something much more dangerous than a whip; it was Heero's Beretta, and the safety was off. 

I bit down hard on my tongue to stop myself from making a sound as I was dragged into the circle. Heero didn't look at me, he seemed to be concentrating on trying to heal himself, although he was being lashed far faster than his skin could close the wounds over, and his blood had already spilled onto the dirt and soaked it red in several places. I could hear the woman breathing, it terrified me. She heaved each breath and exhaled as the whip flashed downwards, and she was going so fast it was a wonder she had stayed conscious all this time. 

When Karl stepped into the clearing she didn't stop, but she did quiet down, and I suspected that she feared him very much. I tried my best to look half-conscious so that they wouldn't watch me as closely, and maybe I would have a chance to help Heero. What I didn't understand was why he was taking this bullshit when he and I both knew perfectly well that he could kill each of them in a snap. I realized he must be trying to protect me, and hatefully looked at Karl for confirmation. He leered gleefully in my direction and raised his hand. The repetitive cracking stopped abruptly.

"Hand me the gunI wouldn't want Maxwell getting any ideas."

The red-haired woman turned her back on Heero for a moment to hand Karl the gun, but it was knocked out of her hand before she ever got to him, by Heero, who had moved faster than my eyes could track him. He already had his arms wrapped around her thick body, and by the bulge of her eyes I guessed he was squeezing her.

"Let Duo go, or I'll kill her." Heero stated calmly, as if he was asking Karl to please pass the potatoes.

Karl hesitated, then punched me in the stomach hard enough to knock me off my feet and send my breath flying from me. I struggled to suck in more air, and the big guys holding me brought me back to my feet sooner than I was ready. Things started to go white around the edges of my vision, but I snorted and clenched my teeth and steeled my resolve to stay in one place.

Heero had watched with absolute calm as I was punched. I noticed his eyes going silver however, now that he was mad enough. The leaves in the clearing rustled in the wind, and a low growl escaped Heero's throat. I can't say I wasn't scared of him at that moment, my whole body froze up. I could barely breathe.I was being hunted. The growl made me feel like I was prey, it made me panic. However, it also made Karl's bulldozer friends tremble, and they dropped me to the ground. Karl remained still where he was. Silence again, penetrated only by rustling leaves. 

"You don't scare me, whore," Karl spat at Heero, who was surveying him with calm silver eyes. The fear that had been left by Heero's feral snarl wasn't gone, but at least I could think again. 

I watched Heero's hands trace the lines of his captive's face. She looked scared that a boy who wasn't even as tall as her shoulder could hold her entirely immobile with little effort. Heero grabbed one of her wrists and slowly, making sure Karl and everyone else could see, he bit her, sinking his small fangs into her flesh just deeply enough to draw a little blood. His eyes continued to watch us all as he sucked at her life, but no-one seemed like they wanted to stop Heero from what he was doing. 

Karl took a step back, and then another, and Heero's eyes followed him. It was hard to tell, but I knew exactly where he was looking, just from seeing Heero showing his silver eyes so often in the past little while. Heero suddenly snapped his victim's head back with one hand and let her body sag down to the ground against his own. He never even batted an eye at her, he was completely focused on Karl. I saw the animal way Heero crept forward now, walking on his two legs like any person would, but somehow striking fear into me. Karl seemed less than terrified, he was laughing, his beady little eyes squinting in the thin light.

I looked around, feeling sick and scared, and saw one of the guys that had been holding me had managed to get to the fallen Beretta. He had the gun in his hand, pointed at my head. I squeaked and scuttled backwards on my hands and knees. I ended up backing into the waiting arms of two of the other big guys, and Karl laughed harder still that Heero had not managed to stop this from happening. They now had my pinned, with a gun barrel pressing into my forehead. Heero looked a little less certain about what he was going to do now. He snarled in agitation.

"Let him go."

Karl cackled. "No. Sorry whore, say goodbye to this slut, he's as good as dead already." 

Karl came over to me and roughly grabbed the gun from one of the others, then jabbed it into my stomach so he could have better access to my face. He closed his hot wet lips over my lips and plunged his tongue into my mouth. I bit it. He pulled the trigger on the gun, and I felt my whole lower body explode with pain as the bullet destroyed my insides. Karl let go of me and I dropped to the ground in fear and shock and pain, managing to gasp out the word 'help' and cough up some blood before I couldn't move anymore. I watched the scene from a strange angle. Heero had leapt at Karl and earned himself a gunshot wound. I think the bullet hit his shoulder on the left side, but at that point I was pretty incoherent.

With one arm useless, Heero was still stronger than the four big guys who surged forward to attack him with their fists. I watched as he took the first guy to reach him and plunged his hand into the man's neck, then he pulled, yanking out the poor fucker's throat. Blood sprayed everywhere from his snapped jugular, and Heero tossed the guy's corpse at his friends, who were knocked to the ground. The fourth guy came in quick from the side and punched Heero square in the jaw, then screamed in pain at the iron-like resistance of Heero's body. This fourth man was quickly made into a meal as Heero crunched into his throat with his mouth and sucked him dry. 

Dropping the body on the bloody earth, Heero watched the last two men scamper off into the woods, and then it was only Karl and himself. Well, and me, but I was lying there, bleeding to death and I wasn't really doing much else at the time. 

Heero punched Karl in the face and then the stomach. Karl fell to the dirt fast and hard, although he wasn't dead, Heero seemed to be satisfied for the time being. 

In my state of pain, I was starting to feel euphoric. I could swear Heero was an angel as I watched the way all the dirt and blood and grime washed off of his body in the wind. He was completely free of complications, his body simply existed where it was, strong and perfect. I watched from faraway as he crouched down over me and tried to catch my eyes.

"Duo? Duo look at me!"

"I see an angel so beautiful " I murmured in awe at him. He frowned and I could see distress in his face, the way he looked at me like I was in danger or something. He was the most gorgeous, amazing creature I had ever seen, and when the pain came into his eyes, I couldn't stand it.

"Heero I-I think I'm dying are you here to take me away Heero? Please please kill me I know I'll be ok if you do it I love you Heero please"

Tears were in his eyes. He rammed his fist into the soil, and a choked, sorrowful cry escaped his lips. It was a terrible sound, it made me feel alone. I struggled to stay awake and to breathe through the blood in my throat as I pleaded that he kill me.

"Duo I'm so sorry "

Heero's lips closed over my throat, and I fell unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~

When I opened my eyes again I realized that my mouth was full of blood, and that my lips were pressed to Heero's wrist, which had been slashed open so that his blood would flow into me. I swallowed and felt heat sear through me. Instinctively I clamped my teeth onto his skin and bit down, tearing the healing gash in his wrist wider. Not a drop of his blood escaped me as I hungrily and desperately sucked it into my throat. I could feel it stirring in my belly the way a strong liquor does, making me warm all over. I felt like I was getting drunk.

I don't know how long I spent gorging myself on something that I normally would never have wanted to taste, but I know that I couldn't seem to be full enough. When I tasted the first drops of crimson on my tongue my body instantly demanded more, and it was still demanding that I continue to drink. Heero was looking pale, the silver thick over his eyes, almost glazed. Finally he pushed my mouth away and I heard myself squeak and I tried to grab his wrist back so I could keep drinking, but he gently covered my mouth with his hand and forced me to look into his eyes. 

"Duo, you've had enoughyou'll make yourself sick."

I whined and bit the palm of his hand, but my teeth weren't really sharp enough to do more than pinch him, his skin did not break and the horrible hunger swam through my body, demanding that I consume more of his blood. 

I felt hot, high, out of control. My head pounded with each beat of my heart, and his blood seeped deeper into my system, changing me. Heero lowered his face to mine and kissed me, his small sharp teeth latching onto my lower lip. He sucked a few drops of blood from the wound, then kissed down my face and jaw to my neck, where he bit down very gently and precisely. 

Everything was spinning by now. Heero was drinking from my throat and I lay limp and whimpering against his body, starving for another taste of him. When his neck came close enough to my mouth I bit him and forcefully sucked, feeling the erratic spurts of blood come into my waiting mouth. 

Heero suddenly pushed me off of him and held me out of reach, so that I couldn't bite him. I watched the slice in his neck heal itself over as his cool silver eyes surveyed me calmly. 

"Enough Duo." He said as I pleaded with my eyes.   
  
"Please Heerojust a little more"

He ignored my pleas and rubbed his hands over my skin. I felt sick all of a sudden, and I doubled over onto the ground, shivering. My belly was so full, but I was starving. I found myself sweating profusely and shivering in the cold, bloody mud on the ground. Heero was crouched right beside me, refusing me the thing I needed. I glared at him and shoved him away from me with a surge of strength, then went back to curling up in a ball and being in pain. I could hear myself crying, there were hot wet tears on my cheeks.

I was impossibly ill, it was disgusting. I felt my insides lurching and then I heaved and vomited all over myself, half of what came out was blood, and the rest was tissue and organs, and things I knew no person should ever throw up. I moaned from the fear and pain, my teeth chattering as wave after pungent wave of nausea flashed over me. I had thrown up most of what made me a person, I could see my kidneys, and my liver, and a few other things. I cried all through this, and tried to ease the fear and pain by rocking on my haunches, but of course that only made me sicker. My body was rejecting itself, the gunshot wound didn't seem to matter anymore, certainly the pain had all become one big throb that rocked me every time it came round. 

The worst part was when my skin started to itch. I wondered absently why I would care that I was itchy during such incredible pain, but when I scratched, flakes of flesh started to come off, and I discovered pale creamy, almost poreless perfect skin beneath. I brushed my peeling self furiously until every inch of me was new and clean. The blood and dirt that had been stuck to me all over was gone, it seemed to just fall into the wind and disappear. And that's when I began to get really scared. My breath caught in my throat and I suddenly looked at Heero in horror, my mouth falling open to revel two very tiny little fangs, just like his. Barely discernable from normal human teeth, only much sharper. 

"You Heero, you made me a vampire?"

I glared at him, still in pain and scared about what was happening to me, but unable to get past my anger. How cold he be so stupid? Making me into more of a killer than I already was it was horrible! I put my pale fingers to my eyes to wipe away my tears, and I saw that they were red, just like his. The only liquid left in me was blood. I shakily got to my feet and backed away from him, red tears streaming down my face. Heero looked horrified, like he didn't expect that I would be so angry with him.

"Duo, stop, its not that bad let me teach you Duo you were so nice to me, I showed you what I am and you weren't scared"

"Shut UP! Get away from me!" I didn't realize how unnaturally loud my voice was, I didn't care. I was being swallowed by disgust and fear, now that the pain was mostly done. But underneath everything I was feeling was a hunger strong enough to take over my mind. I dashed off into the gnarled pine trees, knocking one of them right over with little effort now that I was as hard as marble. I just kept running in one direction until I felt calm enough to stop moving. There was no sign of Heero. I was somewhere in the middle of the forest, and I was starving for blood. 

I couldn't believe what Heero had done to me destroyed my life, my humanity, all because he was selfish and didn't want me to die. He knew how I would react and he still changed meand now I was stuck like this. Terrified, I curled up on the forest floor, not feeling the icy cold beneath me, and cried into my knees as the moon peeked through the thick branches and danced over my skin.

All the while the aching hunger grew in my belly, telling me to kill something.to drink its life.  


  



	12. The Vampire Heero; Ch.12

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Twelve  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

I had spent most of the night sitting in a curled up little ball, in a place that I thought was miles and miles from anywhere. Apparently I wasn't as far away as I felt. My vision and hearing had become much more powerful, and so had my sense of smell. When I touched things like pine needles and grass, each texture took me awhile to absorb, and I found myself watching the grass sway gently in the cold damp air under the trees as the moon crept along the sky and morning approached. 

A stick breaking alerted me to something in the bushes. I stopped moving and looked in the direction the sound had come from, my stomach hoping that whatever it was it would bleed. I crept towards the sound. Irregular breathing filled my ears and my nostrils flared slightly at the promising scent of a person wandering through the underbrush. When he came into view I was shocked to find that it was Karl, looking scared and sick, with his face beat to a black and blue joke. 

I didn't actually recognize who I was stalking right at first, all I could see was food. I leapt forward from my spot crouched in the dirty grass and knocked Karl to the earth, sealing my mouth over his so he couldn't scream. The taste of dirty and mold that came from his mouth no longer repulsed me, it was just a taste. The only thing that mattered was the hot blood that beat within him. 

I replaced my mouth over his with a hand, and followed my instincts, remembering the way Heero had bit into people's throats, right where their arteries were closest to the surface. I did the same and blood spurted forcefully into my mouth. Karl cried out in fear and pain as I wrapped my lips over him and sucked hard, then swallowed the huge mouthful of blood in a single effortless gulp. I could hear the way his heart beat, and I was sure that had I not been so hungry I would have been able to make him live longer, but I was so eager to drink him that I accidentally crushed the back of his skull in the palm of my hand, and he was dead. I threw him away from me, not sure what dead blood would do to me. 

Then I really got a look at what I had just done, and the bloody red tears came to my eyes again. I was wearing bloody clothes, and my hair was loose by now, the tie having fallen from my braid some time ago. With long uncombed hair surrounding me, I was sure I didn't look quite human. I walked backwards, away from Karl's dead body and tried to think of what to do. The sky was pink now, morning light approaching. It seared my eyes and made me feel like I would lose all the blood I had only just consumed. I had to get out of the light, it might kill me. 

I scampered along the pine needled earth until I came to a cave. I crawled in and tucked myself in a tiny little ball at the deepest darkest part of the cave, and there I feel asleep, right before the sun rose. 

~~~~~~~~~~

As evening settled in, I found myself waking up, once more starving and ready to do anything to have what I wanted. I crept from my hiding place and listened. There was the sound of cars straight ahead, and cars meant people. People meant food. I looked down at myself. My shirt was missing the sleeves and my pants were torn, but the fabric was black, and the smell of blood that lingered around me didn't seem at all repulsive. I never stopped to consider that humans would definitely find a problem with me if I stunk like blood and death, and looked like an escaped zoo animal. 

I went through the trees and found myself at the school. Of all the places I could have ended up, I had to pick the one that I knew Heero would find me in. Stupid. I made a break across the soccer field in record time, then quickly crawled into my dorm room window, praying that Heero would not be there. He wasn't, but all his stuff still was, so I knew he hadn't left. I also knew that he would eventually find me, because I was leaving muddy footprints on the carpet. I have no idea what ever happened to my shoes, but they were certainly not on my feet any longer. 

I peeled off my clothes and walked into the bathroom, intent on a nice hot shower. My reflection in the bathroom mirror distracted me before I had a chance to get in the shower stall, however.

I turned to face the reflection, my eyes wide. They were sliver, like Heero's. And my skin was unbelievably pale, as were my lips. I raised a hand to touch my face. All my skin was super soft, not at all porous, and every inch of me was practically white. All the pigment had disappeared from my skin. My hair was a tangled mess, streaking down my back and over my shoulders, but caught up with a whole lot of sticks and grass and mud. I drew back my lips and saw that my eye teeth had changed slightly to become well-disguised little fangs, and every inch of my body was resilient and hard, but covered in velvet soft skin.

After staring at myself for a very long while I got into the shower and washed. When I came out again the water seemed to just leave my skin and hair, and the only scent I had was the smell of my shampoo and soap. No more gunk from the forest in my hair. Not that it had bothered me so much as it should have to be filthy. I changed into fresh clothes and sat down on my bed, thinking about what my options were.

I couldn't stay here, I would have to face Heero sooner or later, and I was so angry with him I thought I might try and kill him if I got to chance. It seemed like a good idea, then he couldn't make anymore people suffer with eternal life and such. Bastard. Now I was stuck living forever and killing people and all that other happy nasty vampire stuff that I really wanted no part of. The easiest thing would be to just kill myself, but the only way I could think of that Heero hadn't already said doesn't work was cutting off my own head, and I really didn't have the stomach for that, no matter what kind of creepy crawly I'd become.

I perched in the open window, contemplating the subtle way the clouds shifted and piled over one another by the pale light of the moon. I could see tiny bugs as they flit through the air, and hear their wings rustle against each other if I listened closely. Everything seemed so much more beautiful, so much more alive now, especially when it was dappled with evening moonlight. Heero had mentioned how important the moon was that's how he managed to be awake in the day, something about being under the moon all night 

I didn't have time to finish my thought. A key slid into the lock on the door and I watched the handle turn. I never even thought about moving before I was spotted, Heero had already stepped into the room and was currently staring at me with wide, alert silver eyes, gauging my movements. He smelled like people.blood. It tinted his cheeks pink and I assumed his hands would be warm if I touched them. My own were icy, but it didn't bother me in the slightest. The smell of blood was on his clothes, it was making my mouth water, even though there was nothing present that I could eat. Heero closed the door after a few seconds and didn't say anything to me, although he never took his eyes off mine for even a moment.

"Go away," I hissed at him, glaring from between my bangs.

Cautiously, Heero came into the room further and seated himself on his bed, looking me over with a calm expression on his face that I knew was hiding his wary alertness. "You must be hungry "

"Shut up! How could you do this to me!? You selfish fucking asshole! You could have just let me die, it would have been a blessing. Now.now I'm going to be like this forever, and its your stupid fault! You don't have to worry about Karl anymore, 'cause he's fucking dead with his skull crushed to nothing, thank you very much. He was a bastard, but nobody deserves what I did to him, just so I could drink his god-damned blood! You turned me into a murderous leech Heero, I hate you. Go away."

Heero blinked at me and shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm faster than you. If you leave, I'm going to follow you."

"Why won't you just leave me alone!? Don't you think you've done enough already?"

Heero stood up slowly from the bed, and as I blinked I found him sitting opposite me on the windowsill. I was like him now, and I still couldn't see him move, he was definitely faster than me. He looked seriously into my face. "Duo we can be together forever nowwe won't have to be lonely. I love you I thought you would still love me"

"You turned me into a killer!"

"You were going to die if I didn't! It was that or I could have mended your wound with my blood and then you would be hungry for it forever, and that just wouldn't work. You have to be around Duo, I need you there's nothing good but you."

"I wanted to die. You are selfish."

"I know that."

"You should have let me die."

"Well I didn't."

I exhaled exasperatedly. It was hard to really stay mad at him when I was so hungry, and his clothes smelled like blood, which was distracting the hell out of me.

"You're hungry will you at least let me teach you how to hunt so that you don't end up getting caught?"

"I don't want to think of people as meat I can't do that. But when I saw Karl all I could see was food. Heero, you made me a monster"

"People aren't meat, they're people. But you will find that nothing will satisfy you unless you get to drink human blood and killthat's what you need to survive. If you don't eat at all you'll go crazy after awhile, you'll just snap and go on a rampage, and if you don't ever kill your victims you'll find yourself unable to stop from killing people some other way, no matter how elaborate. I never knew another vampire, but I learned these things from experiencemake sure you eat and kill.otherwise you could hurt a lot of people without meaning to."

Heero looked at me to see if I was calming down a bit. I thought that he must be flaunting the fact that he had knowledge gained through experience, and I didn't. He was trying to get me to follow him on the basis that I needed his information. No doubt he planned to talk me into staying with him once I was full on blood, but I really saw no other choice. I was feeling hungry and homicidal, an I knew he would keep me in line if need be, so I slowly nodded to him.

"Fine. I know what you're trying to do, but I'm going with you anyway."

"Good." Heero slipped to the ground outside the window and bid that I follow him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Fifteen minutes later found me creeping through a back alley with Heero behind me, watching me try to follow my newly heightened senses to food. I had already failed a couple times when I attacked people who were innocent. Heero had to come and pull me off of an orphaned little girl who I had only managed to bite. I screamed and punched him in the face and gave chase as the girl darted off in fear, but Heero tackled me to the ground and beat me unconscious, giving her plenty of time to escape. When I came to, I was laying in a back alley dumpster with him sitting on top of me.

"Why'd you let her go?" I asked, not really caring that he had hit me, its not like it really hurt, even when he seriously injured me I healed almost instantly. However, I was much hungrier now then I had been before.

"She was completely innocent, and she has her whole life ahead of her. You cannot go around drinking just anyone's blood Duo, that isn't fair to them. Be smart about it, don't reveal your nature all at once, maybe have a conversation with the person first, see if they are at peace. Sometimes they know they are going to die, and its ok with them. Honest, you wouldn't believe how many people are happy to see me. But then sometimes they really don't want to go, and then it simply isn't right to take them unless they are bad people like Karl. Does it make sense to you?"

"It doesbut you make it sound like I have a choiceI'm so hungry"

"I know you areI'm going to help you find someone to kill, someone that wants to die. It won't be so hard. But you have to control yourselfdon't go tearing them apart all at once."

Heero got off of me and threw the dumpster open and hopped easily out of it. I was glad it had been empty and relatively clean, so that people wouldn't smell me coming before I wanted them to know I was there. I brushed myself off and caught up to Heero, who was walking back the way we had come. I had been unconscious, but it was the only way to go so it seemed logical that he had brought me to the dumpster from there. He led me to a residential area, and started walking along the little streets, not seeming to do anything at all. After about half an hour of wandering a bunch of dumb streets I put a hand on his shoulder.

"What are we doing? I thought we were getting something to eat?"

"We are."

"So, don't you think there would be more people inside the houses, rather than on the street?"

"Every time we pass a house I am looking for a feeling coming from it. You will learn this quickly, its easy. You can feel which ones want to die, and which ones deserve to die. I am looking for that. Be quiet and listen to the people around you and you'll know what they want."

Well. That confused the fucking shit out of me. I followed Heero, having no idea what I was supposed to be looking for. I didn't feel a thing from the people around me, and when he suddenly turned and walked up a driveway, around to the back of a house, I still didn't know if he had found what he was looking for, or if he was doing something else. 

I glanced into the sheer curtained windows of the living room to see an old woman all alone sitting in a squeaky rocking chair holding a wedding picture of a young couple. The woman in the chair must have been about eighty-five. She rocked once in awhile, but sad sighs were more common. She stared at the picture in her hands, and occasionally glanced to a picture of an old man that was sitting on the table beside her. I understood now why Heero had picked this place. This woman had lost her husband and all she longed for was to be with him again. It would be doing her a favour to kill her, and she was old enough that the people who had once depended on her in the world could look after themselves. 

I followed Heero through the bathroom window, amazed at how easy it was to get in now that I had a wider range of movement. But the scent of blood filled me as soon as I stepped out of the tiny bathroom, and I instinctively scurried towards the woman, intent on jumping her from behind.

What I didn't expect was for her to turn around and smile at me.

"Hello Duo," she said. 

  



	13. The Vampire Heero; Ch.13

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Thirteen  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

I stepped back in shock, but the woman didn't seem at all shocked to see me, or Heero. From the look on Heero's face, he had not known anything about her before he climbed into her bathroom window, so he was surprised too, although he hid it a lot better than I did. The smell of blood filled my nostrils and I closed my eyes to block out the strange woman, but it wasn't working so well. I could still smell her all too clearly to ignore how hungry I was. I didn't really care why she knew who I was, I just had to eat.

Fortunately Heero's strong arms wrapped around my body and held me in place. I swallowed a few times and opened my eyes. The little woman had set the wedding picture down and was gesturing for Heero and I to sit. 

"I've been expecting you."

I glared at her as did Heero. He didn't seem to like people knowing about who he was very much. I didn't blame him. She hadn't said his name, but there was implied meaning between her words, she meant both of us had been expected, not just myself.

"Don't get flustered I've been waiting a long time to meet you both. Nobody else knows about you, I can assure you of that. I know you're hungry so I'd best quit jabbering and let you eat me already. I just wanted to say thank you before you did."

I wrestled out of Heero's grip and stood up angrily. "Who the hell are you? What do you mean you've been waiting for us? I've never seen you before, there's no way you could know who we are!"

"But there is Duo."

"Maybe you should explain it to me then, because you don't make any sense lady."

Heero stood up and walked briskly over to the woman, glaring angrily. He picked her up with one strong hand and looked into her eyes. She smiled, her dull blue eyes gleaming with excitement. That look stayed on her face as Heero bit her and drank a bit. I watched him bite his own tongue and lick the wounds in her neck shut with his blood. He beckoned me to his side and pressed her into my arms.

Of course there was nothing I could do to stop myself from sinking my teeth into her and letting her blood wash into my mouth, but after I felt her body slide out of my arms and drop onto the floor I knew I was going to Hell if I ever died. At that very moment, however, I was content to sit down on the worn old rocker and bask in the feeling that surged through me, my foot occasionally bumping the woman's body on the floor as I rocked slowly back and forth. Everything felt good. Alive. I felt heat go through my body and I thought that I was actually back to being alive and human for a little while, but eventually that feeling faded and I blinked a few times, noticing that Heero was sitting on the sofa watching me with no expression on his face.

"How long"

"Its only been about ten minutes Duo."

"I never felt like that before"

"You'll get used to it. Are you still hungry?"

I thought for a second. Yes, I was still hungry, but the worst part of it had faded, so I shook my head. Heero got up and licked his lips, looking around the room.

"Move. I'm going to sit her back in her chair and heal the bite marks. It'll look like she died of natural causes. I want to look aroundshe knew who we were when she saw usshe was waiting for us. I have never had that happen before. Maybe we can find something"

"I get it, go look for clues, you could have just said that." 

I walked out of the room and through the house. It was easy to tell where everything was, I could see that the carpet was worn in a few places, so I just followed the trail down the hall and into what was presumably the woman's bedroom. It smelled like her in here, and there was a bed, and a couple dressers, a mirror and a desk with a lamp. I didn't touch anything so that I wouldn't leave fingerprints. Nothing seemed to be visibly unorthodox about this room, so I left it as it was and went to the next room in the hall. I covered my hand with my sleeve and opened up the door. 

Definitely not your normal spare bedroom, or office, or anything else. The whole thing was painted with a mural that covered the floor and ceiling and walls. The floor had a definite circle painted on it, and at the center of the circle was a round table full of candles and incense, some water, salt, colourful stones, all kinds of weird stuff. There were some books under the table, hidden by the plain black velvet cloth that covered the table. 

I noticed a door in one wall, it was part of the mural but it opened when I turned the handle. The inside was covered in shelves. There were bundles of herbs hanging from the ceiling, and little jars of things on most of the shelves. There was an actual black, three-legged iron cauldron on the floor in the corner. I found a selection of mirrors and more colourful stones, and all kinds of really strange little things in the closet. There also happened to be a book. A black hardcover book bound in leather and looking very used. Taking it in my hands I flipped to the first page. There was a book blessing. From there I flipped through the pages, not really finding anything that had to do with vampires or gundam pilots. It seemed that this woman had been a practicing witch, I was reading her Book of Shadows. There were all sorts of rituals and prayers and recipes, information about the properties and uses of various herbs, stones, crystals, spices, etc 

I didn't know how long I had been looking through the book when I felt Heero's hand touch my shoulder. I looked into his face in confusion. "Are we leaving?" 

"Hai, There wasa shrine, about the two of us in one of the rooms. Not as elaborate as this room, but there were drawings, photosall kinds of information I don't understand how this woman could know all of this about us. I don't like it, we should relocate. She knew the date I changed youpredicted you would kill her. I found a table and these" Heero held up a tattered box. I took it. Inside was a deck of cards with pictures on them. Cups, swords, wands they were Tarot cards. I pocketed them and tucked the thick leather-bound book under my arm, following Heero our of the woman's house though the bathroom window. 

We walked back to the school. I forgot to be mad at him, for the moment I was interested in whatever gave one old lady the power to predict her own death. It was probably a good distraction for me, although Heero was too buy skulking to care. 

I sat on my bed and pawed through the book, reading everything she had written. She had been keeping this book ever since she was a teenager, some of what was written had been scribbled out and declared untrue as she learned more about herself and what she believed in. The book contained her story as well as her own experiences with cards, spells, charms. It was all in the book, and I was totally fascinated by it.

Around four am, as the sky began to get pink, I yawned big and closed the book, saving my page with a piece of printer paper. I retrieved the cards from my pocket and took them out so I could look at them. Each card was worn and a little faded, but they had that attraction that old things often do, and I decided I would learn how to use them. I hoped there was something about it in her bookmaybe I would have to go back to the house and see her shrine, although I figured that it was probably destroyed since Heero had been the one to find it. There's no way he would ever let information like that go.

"Duoyou should get some sleep."

I yawned and pouted. "I'm not sleepy."

"We both have no choice but to sleep today, as we didn't sleep last night, and we were inside most of the night. I've done this before, just close the curtains and go under your blankets and you will be fine."

Yawning again, I could feel myself getting drowsy. I went into the bathroom and began to brush my teeth out of habit, but the toothpaste tasted absolutely horrible. I spit it out all over the place and started coughing. Heero came in looking sort of concerned. 

"This stuff tastes horrible!"

"Yes."

"What am I supposed to brush my teeth with?"

"Nothing. Like the rest of you, your teeth will remain forever as they are now. If you lose one, it'll grow back during your sleep. Same with your hair. You can cut it every night if you want, dye it, do anything you want to it, and it will grow back to the exact length it is now. If you injure yourself, you won't scar. You will not age. You're going to be sixteen forever. Physically, at least."

I looked at my deathly pale reflection in the mirror. I was going to be like this forever it really didn't sink in until then that I was immortal now. Heero spoke of it like a curse, and I could see how he would want to eventually die, but for me, it seemed like a whole window of new possibilities. I could not die. I could not drown, I couldn't bleed to death or be hung or shot. Unless I managed to completely lose my head, I was home free. A smile curled over my lips. Yes, people would have to die, and I had already known before I was a vampire that killing people had consequences, but things were different now. Its not like I was going to purposely hurt people for no reasonevery time I took a life now it would be to feed myself. But did I have the right to exist? Were vampires natural? There was a lot I needed to think about. Fortunately I was able to concentrate on the immortality aspect of things as I looked into the mirror. That was the first really good thing about being this way, after I had gotten used to the heightened senses and abilities. But I still had to kill people. Maybe it would be best if I stayed alone.but then Heero would have gone to all his trouble for nothing.and leaving would make me a compassionless monster. Plusits not like being with Heero was all bad. I think that me being the one with less knowledge gave him a chance to be confident and tell me things he knew to be true. It made him feel like he was worth somethingso that was another good reason to stay with him. And he was dead sexy. Definitely worth my time. But thinking of him like that was selfishwasn't it? Because I knew he wanted me.so I would have to be careful to keep things that way, and make sure that I deserved to have him.

Winking at myself in the mirror, I left the bathroom and closed the curtains to the approaching sun, crawling into the warm darkness of my bed and curling up in a little ball as I felt myself falling asleep. When the sun finally decided to come up I was snoring away, locked happily in the dorm with Heero to protect me in case anything decided to happen.

~~~~~~~~~~

I woke to Heero gently gripping my shoulder. Before my eyes were even open I knew I needed to eat something. If possible, I was even hungrier tonight then I had been last night. It was about six-thirty, there would still be plenty of people out and about. Heero told me that it was wiser to wait until later to go hunting, so that there was less chance of a witness.

I pleaded with him and whined and told him how hungry I was, and generally acted like a pain in the ass until he agreed to take me to find someone to eat, but he said that he would wait until later for himself because it was easier to find someone that wouldn't be missed when it was late.

Unfortunately, Heero wouldn't let me leave straight away, he insisted I don a disguise. I told him I was a stealth master and he glared at me and said, "Fine Stealth Master, you can wait until after midnight for your meal then." 

So you can understand how I was talked into the disguise. No way was I waiting six hours to even start looking for something to eat. Heero told me to sit on the bed and wait, and that he would make the disguise. When he came back from the bathroom with a pair of scissors I started to get nervous.

"Heerowhat's with the scissors?" I asked nervously, trying to keep a smile on my face as he approached.

"For your hair," he said calmly, then started to lean closer so he could reach my braid. 

Maybe I overreacted a bit, but I totally flipped. I grabbed the scissors out of his hand and backed away from him, feeling completely betrayed. "You bastard! How could you try to cut my hair!? Are you stupid? Do you know how long it took to get my hair this long? To keep it all healthy? You're insane if you think I'm letting you chop it off, I'll wait the six hours for food, Jesus, how can you think of these things?" I threw my hands up in the air and ranted a bit longer, eventually flinging the scissors into the wall where they stuck.

"Duo. Shut up" Heero interrupted me a few minutes later as he was wrestling the scissors from the wall. "You're overreacting, your hair will grow back. Quickly, by this time tomorrow it will be back to its permanent length. If you change your hair a little then you will not look like yourself, and it will make it difficult for people to recognize you, or tell which sex you are. That is useful when you are planning on killing someone. You should also wear tinted or reflective glasses, because you haven't learned how to make your eyes appear normal and human yet, they are always silver. Please let me cut your hair."

"You're sure it'll grow back?"

"Positive."

"WellI guess if you're sure but only cut a little, just so I can see that it'll grow back. Ok?"

I went over to Heero so he could cut my hair. I was scared, I had to admit it. I unraveled my braid, but he took it out of my hands and raised the scissors to it. I couldn't see, but I could feel the way my hair pulled, I was terrified that he was going to cut it all off. I sank to the floor and curled up in a ball, trying to calm myself down and stop myself from crying. Boys didn't cry, and vampires sure as hell shouldn't, at least when it came to me they shouldn't. I didn't shame Heero for having cried to me, but if I were to show so much as one crimson tear in front of Heero, I knew I would never feel the same around him again. 

Thinking this way managed to calm me down, and I didn't actually cry, although I had shrunk into a little ball of shivers on the floor, which technically made me a chickenshit. I didn't care. Heero was combing his fingers through my hair, which was now about six inches shorter than it had been. It went only to my middle back now. It was hard to look at myself with shorter hair when I was told to go arrange it in the mirror, but I managed. Now we could eat. Food was sounding especially good at the moment.

Heero led me out of out dorm window, straight through a patch of forest to a densely populated city. The one that the school was situated just outside of, the city that Heero and I had originally intended to stay in. The school had just been convenient. We came out of the trees and crossed a highway. Heero had me follow him along until we were in what was most likely the 'bad part of town,' the place where all the crack heads and junkies and such lived. Beautiful. The smell if urine filled my nostrils, it was disgusting to walk through here, but there was supposed to be food somewhere, so I faithfully followed Heero along the back alleys and crumbling sidewalks.

Like the night before, he was looking for the right person, so it took awhile. I was intensely hungry, I thought I might jump the first person we met if I didn't get something soon. I wasn't really thinking too clearly now, because the hunger was so great.

Finally, after what felt like the six hours I wasn't supposed to have endured, Heero turned off of an alley into a dark doorway. He gently pried the door off of its hinges and had me follow him downwards. The stairs we traveled were the steep rickety type, but they weren't a problem now that my balance was so good. The stairwell led to a room with peeling wallpaper on top of crumbling gyprock. The walls were dotted with holes, and water had leaked from the ceiling so that one corner of the room was soggy and moldy. A bare bulb dangled from the ceiling, and a single man was bundled up in a moth-eaten sleeping bag, clutching a knife tightly in one hand. There were rats in here, but they didn't bother me. Its not like they could hurt me, I had nothing to be afraid of. Heero looked down at the man and nodded to me.

"Not like last night, this is a different kind of kill. He's a murderer. The kind of person who enjoys causing hurt to other people. He does not deserve his life. Can you feel how bad he is?"

I looked at the filthy man who had not heard out whispers. I could sort of feel that he wasn't all therebut I had no idea if that classified someone as a murderer. Heero must know more about him than the fact that he was messed up. I would have to practice this. 

I bent over the sleeping figure. As my shadow was cast over his closed eyes he struck out with his knife, plunging it into my chest without hesitating even slightly. I heard myself hitting the ground as my head smashed into the concrete floor, and then everything went black, stabbing, searing, terrible pain throbbing from my chest as my blood seeped from my body.  


  



	14. The Vampire Heero; Ch.14

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Fourteen  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

When I came around the first thing I felt was pain in my chest, and nausea. I was laying an damp concrete, and through all the smells of mold and urine, there was blood, which made me forget all about the pain in my chest. I carefully sat up, cringing at the sight of a knife handle sticking out of my chest. I was afraid that if I pulled the knife out, then I would bleed to death or something. Its hard to get used to the idea of being immortal. 

The man who stabbed me was currently in Heero's clutches. When he saw that I was awake he leaned the man against a crumbling wall and came over to me, pulling the serrated blade quickly out of my chest. I gasped and doubled over, but I could feel the wound healing even as I bled. 

I lurched forward and seized the greasy, filthy killer in one hand, dragging him into my arms and covering a space of his skin with my mouth. It didn't matter how dirty he was, hid blood was still sweet and delicious, and I fell into a stupor after he was dead, full on more blood than I had had alone in one sitting to date. My eyes glazed over and I lay motionless on the concrete staring up at nothing as warmth seeped through my normally cold form and I felt alive for a little while. 

Heero was shaking my shoulder. "Duo, come on, snap out of it. I can hear sirens, there are police in the area. We should go."

I looked up at Heero through glassy eyes and slowly sat up, my head feeling light, but in a good way. Heero helped me stand and led me out of the little basement room, up the rickety, steep stairwell, and out into the cool night. There were sirens, but they weren't too close to where we were. I staggered a little as I tried to follow Heero along the dark streets and alleys. It was hard to stay focussed when I felt so good. 

By the time we crossed the highway and re-entered the trees, I was pretty much back to normal, the warm, alive feeling already leaving me. Heero pulled me into his arms and looked into my eyes once we were away from the sound of cars.

"You have to be more careful Duo, that guy stabbed youhad you been human you would be dead."

"I'm ok now, don't worry so much."

"But I do" Heero's face came closer to mine and I realized that he was kissing me. His lips were cold, but so were mine, so the temperature didn't really matter. I wrapped my arms around him and opened my mouth to let his tongue in as I slipped my hands under his shirt to touch his cool hard back. I could feel the muscles in his shoulders and lower back, Heero felt very good to my hands. He buried his fingers in my hair, stroking and caressing my back even as he drew his hands through my loose locks. Heero's mouth tasted good when I pushed my way into it. What I didn't expect was for his teeth to close down on my tonguehe bit me to draw my blood into the kiss. I was unsure of what to do, I knew he wasn't hurting me or anything, but did vampires share each other's blood?

One of Heero's hands pulled me tighter against his chest as he sucked at my mouth, my tongue, and my lips, biting here and there so that there was always at least one small wound that hadn't managed to heal yet. I eventually pushed him away from me, looking into his eyes in confusion.

Heero stared back at me, appearing hungry and full of lust. His eyes had an animal gleam, replacing the calculating humanized look he usually wore. I cupped his chin and drew my fingers along his face. He was very soft, and paler than I remembered. Extremely beautiful, dancing on the line of looking male or female. Long dark eyelashes, full, kiss-swollen lips, and silvery eyes, which caught what moonlight had managed to sink down through the trees, and made it sparkle. I touched his lips with two fingers. He opened his mouth and sucked on them, then bit me, and sucked the blood from my finger. I withdrew from his embrace and pulled my fingers out of his mouth.

"Duo?" he asked, wondering why I had stepped away from him.

"You keep biting me like I'm a piece of meat. Food. Is that what I am Heero?" I sat down on a convenient log and looked up at him. 

"No, Duonot at all" Heero sat down beside me, keeping eyes contact. He stroked my face and my lips and slipped a pair of fingers into my mouth. I looked at him skeptically. "Bite me." He said, and wiggled his fingers to encourage me.

I bit him. A bit of his blood came into my mouth and I swallowed. There was something about doing thisit made me feel close to him. I pulled his fingers out of my mouth and held the inside if his wrist to me, looking to him for approval. He nodded and I bit down, tasting the thick flow of his blood into my mouth. He was deliciousbut there was something more to it than that. I didn't feel like I was being nourished, I felt like I was getting closer to Heero I could swear I was feeling what he feltalmost hearing his thoughts. He pulled me against him and bit my neck even as I sucked at his wrist. 

It was like stepping inside his head. I was part of himI could feel him thinking, moving, I heard what he heard, felt what he felt, and tasted myself through his mouth. It was something utterly stronger than what I imagined sex to beI knew how much he loved me, and how guilty he felt when he killed, I could see his memories as he had them, flashes of people from his past, and people from the present. He was a lonely soul, his life was sort of like a time lapse video, except he was moving at a normal pace, and everything else was speeding. I licked his wounds shut and looked at him in surprise. He was staring right back at me. 

"You're not a piece of meat Duoyou understand now, don't you?"

"Ah" I didn't much feel like talking at the moment, I just wanted to be close to him. We stood up in silence and made our way through the trees to the school, scurrying over the quiet soccer field and easily climbing into our dorm room window. There was blood all over my clothes, so I peeled them off and stepped into the shower to get warm and clean. I was still thinking about Heero's blood and his mind when I got out of the shower, but he was gone from the dorm room. He left me a one word note. 'Hunting.'

I crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash, frowning slightly that he was gone, but seeing a good window of opportunity to look at the book I had picked up the night before. I pulled it out from its safe place under my bed and opened to the last page I had been on, removing my paper bookmark and re-reading the previous page to get back into it.

Out of body experiences. Astral travel. There were about ten pages on out of body travel, some were a journal of personal experiences, but there was also a method guide and warnings, and some other useful stuff. Moon phases, stone and herb correspondences that went well with these thingsit looked interesting. You could train yourself to travel out of your own body to different places, and different times if you were really good at it. This lady had been goodshe went back to her own handfasting to watch herself be wed to her now dead husband periodically, just to keep the memories fresh in mind.

I marked that section in the book, maybe I could return to the past somedaymaybe I could see all the people who were now dead just one more time, even if they didn't know I was there. I stopped looking through the book for a little while so that I could look out the window at the twinkling stars. Could they see me now? Were they wondering why I was suspended like thisimmortal. Stopped from ever moving forward, but still affecting things, and changing and causing hurt. Would the people I love from my past forgive me for existing in this way? 

I had no idea. My stomach turned uncomfortably, that was not a line of thought I wanted to be on right now I turned back to the book and flipped past the rest of the information on astral travel and dream theories/experiences/methods, and ended up finding myself at an explanation of the tarot cards. This seemed awfully complicated for a card gamebut then again I had never tried anything like this before, so I didn't blame myself for not getting it the first few times I read through it. 

The deck had 78 cards, and each card had a different meaning. There was no way I was going to be able to remember this all in one night. There were meanings for each of the cards written down in the book, and little notes about how this deck in particular had its own personality, and how the meaning of turning each card differed in this deck, when compared to other, less used tarot decks. It was all very fascinating, but it was really confusing too. The book explained different ways to draw the cads, and the meaning behind each method. There were 21 cards called the Major Arcana, and the rest of the cards were divided into four suits, and together they were called the Minor Arcana. It seemed like a lot of fancy names and meanings and pictures for some cards that supposedly told the future and answered questions. I grinned at the deck as looked through it, wondering what I would find if I tried to read my own cards.

I was trying to learn the meanings of all the Major Arcana when Heero came back into the room, looking completely unruffled. Obviously he hadn't been attacked or stabbed like I had when I was hungry. Damn experiencehn. He smelled faintly like human blood, it was on his breath. He came over to me and sat down on the bed beside me. I could smell fire on him too, gasoline, charred things, burnt plasticI didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?"

"These are the cards you found at that lady's houseI'm going to learn how to use them."

"Why?"

"So I can tell the future and stuff."

"You know that's not real, don't you? Its bullshit. Superstition and such."

"Then can you explain how she knew all about us?"

"Well it wasn't these cards Duoshe had pictures of us. Sketches. Information about us that only we knowcards don't draw pictures, and they don't tell you that people are almost two hundred years oldor that they are going to be turned into a vampirethis lady had something else on usI don't know how she knew all this, but I'm telling you it wasn't some stupid cards that told her."

"I'm, going to find out how she knew everythingI supposed you found a way to destroy that shrine"

"Everything's gone. I went back and made sure that her house burnt down with her in it. No-one had found her yet, the she was still sitting in the chair where we left her. I made it look like the fire started in the shrine roomfrom the candles. I took this." 

Heero pulled two things out of his pocket. One of them I recognized, the other I didn't. There was what looked like a self-destruct button from a gundam, although I knew it wasn't from my gundam. I had no idea what the significance of that was. There was also a small silver cross, dangling from a silver chain made of very small, fine little links. That I recognized. I picked it up carefully, not wanting to hurt it, and I examined it closely, twirling it between my fingers so I could see the back of the cross. Scratched into the soft pure silver was an S. I took the cross with me and locked myself in the bathroom, the Tarot deck that was spread over my bed completely forgotten. 

I clutched the little cross in my hand and turned the shower on cold, not bothering to remove my clothes as I curled up in the bottom of the shower stall. The cold water didn't sting my skin or make me feel sick inside like I wanted it toit just made my body really cold. I stayed in the shower anyway, turning the cross over and over in my hands and thinking about what it meant. I didn't notice when the water going down the drain was mixed with red from my tears, I was just thinking about the little cross.

Solo. That's what the S meant. This cross had belonged to the very first person who ever showed me that I was worth anything at all. Orphaned, cold, and living on the streets of a degenerated old colony, Solo found me and taught me how to survive. We were poor, but he kept the little cross said it showed we were worth having around. He wouldn't sell it, not only because the vendors on the streets and in the pawn shops wouldn't give him a good deal for it, but because it had been given to him by his mother before she died of cancer when he was four. His father had left long before that, and Solo was left to roam the streets alone. He kept the cross as a symbol. When he found me and fed me some stale bread and mushy fruit I was terrified of being all by myself, and I was so little I didn't even know my own name. We teamed up with other orphans and tried to make a living for ourselves by stealing what we absolutely needed, and running from the officials when they chased us. 

But then they found a new way to flush the colony free of orphansa virus. The antidote barely cost a thing, but they made it unavailable to us, and made sure that we were infected. I never got sick, I never caught the virus. But Solo didand he died in my arms after telling me to keep his cross in memory of him. It was my fault he diedI went to steal the antidote, and I wasn't fast enough. I know that if it had been the other way around Solo would have managed to get me the antidote on timebut I couldn't do it. I let him die because I was too slow to save him, and instead of being scared or sad like any other ten year old kid would be, he told me to take care of myself and the others, and that he loved me and he would never leave me. I cried, he told me not to, because he wasn't going anywhere. Of course I just cried more then, but his fingers were there to wipe away the tears. And then his fingers were pushing his silver cross into my little fist and telling me to keep it safe. He took one last weak breath and his body was still. Dishwater blonde hair that was dirty and greasy from lack of washing was between my fingers, and the little cross was around my neck. Solo was deadhe couldn't be, but he was. I cried over him and slept beside his body until the officials found me. They ripped the cross off of me and kept it.I never got it back. I was shoveled off to an orphanage, where I eventually gained other friends, and my braid, and a gold cross from Father Maxwell but none of it could fill he gap left in me where Solo was supposed to be.

So looking at the little cross dangling between my fingers I understood that the woman who had known we were coming really didn't hold us against itand I knew that she really could travel between times and places, and I knew that the deck of cards that was splayed over my bed in the other room was definitely more powerful than it appeared to be.

But I wondered if Solo was somehow still with meI wondered if I would ever find him again. Now I had eternity to search for him if that's what I wanted to do, although there was still Heero to learn fromand I did love him, so there was no way I was going to just pick up and leave him. But I couldn't stay with him forever, could I? I really didn't know.

I turned off the water and peeled off my soggy clothes, putting the cross around my neck and wrapping a towel around my waist. I left the bathroom. Heero was flipping through the Book of Shadows, carefully scanning each page and frowning at it before turning to the next page. I didn't feel like talking. I knew he would understand at least that I didn't want to say anything. He was holding the button tightly in one hand and looking at it every so often as if it would disappear when he wasn't watching. I got dressed in some loose boxers and a plain black T-shirt, then went to sit on the windowsill and look at the graying sky. I was tired. I had cried too much and thought too much for one night, and I needed to sleep. However I knew that I couldn't simply keep living here and not attending class, Heero and I would both be kicked out of the school.

"Heero, what about our classes?"

"I called the school from a payphonetold them we were both away on vacation and we won't be back for a week. You don't have to worry about classes until then."

"Ahwhat's the point of going to schoolits not like we need to keep jobs later in life"

"That's your decision. You're never going to look any older than you do nowthere are only so many things you can do when you look sixteen."

"So I should go to school forever?"

"No, its just a good place to blend in, people tend to ignore the pale quiet kids."

"But I can't even stay awake during the day"

"I don't know if its possible for you yetI was too scared that I would be burnt to nothing for about ten years, so I always hid away from the sun well before the day ever came, and I woke late by nature, usually around nine or ten pm. I never saw so much as a bit of twilight for a very long time. You're different from me, you wake early. You'll have to find what works best for you through experience. I promise you you're not going to spontaneously combust if you get caught in sunlight, but you will probably burn some. You'll heal."

I nodded to Heero and started to clean up the Tarot cards, putting them carefully back in their box and tucking it away in a locked drawer beside my bed. Now that I believed they were actually worth something, I really didn't want to hurt them. Heero changed into a pair of boxers and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my neck. 

"We can share a bed if you want Duo," he said, implying that it was what he would like to do.

I turned around in his arms so I was facing him, and kissed his cheeks, loving how soft his skin was beneath my lips. I liked these chaste kisses, no tongues, no blood, just lips and skin and strong arms wrapping about one another. I took him with me and we went through the room closing the curtains, and then we slipped into Heero's bed. 

I wrapped both arms around Heero and he snuggled into me. My eyes drifted shut as the sun rose outside our windows.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I dreamt that Solo was dying again. But instead of handing me a cross before he died, he handed me a bunch of Tarot cards, and instead of dying, he got up and walked away, then evaporated as he got further from me. He had been saying thingsI couldn't really remember whathe had been telling me that it was all in the cards. He was carrying The Fool and the 4 of Swords as he walked away, a smile on his face. He had handed me the Queen of Cupsbut when I looked at it I couldn't tell if it was right-side up or upside down. Maybe it was supposed to be both? I had also ended up with The High Priestess and The Tower. I frowned at the cards in my hands and stood, wondering where my cross was. I looked around on the ground for itSolo had not given it to me. This was wrong. What was going on?

I sat up in bed very suddenly, Heero curled up beside me. The sun was so brightI had kicked the covers off of us bothI was sweating blood on the bed, it soaked through the sheets and my clothes, and it was even on Heero's clothes. I panted and tried to look around. Searing bright sunlight filtered in through the tiny cracks in the blinds. I cringed and staggered out of the bed, darting to the bathroom to cool off in the cold recess of the shower. I didn't bother with the lights.

However, before I actually turned the water on, my eyes caught sight of something sitting on the countercards. Three of them. Despite the darkness, I could see that it was the three from my dream, and the Queen of Cups was turned sideways, as if it wasn't sure whether it was right-side or reversed. I stared down at the three little cards, feeling sick and light-headed, and crawled to the shower, turning on the cold water and trying to fall back asleep.  
  


  



	15. The Vampire Heero; Ch.15

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Fifteen  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

It was inevitable that I fall back asleep with very little effort, after laying under the cold water for about five minutes, My eyes drooped, and I felt like I was going into hibernation. I like that part of being a vampire, there is no insomnia. As long as the sun was out, I had no problems sleeping through the rest of the day. Waking up, however, was a different matter.

It was around ten o'clock when I finally felt Heero shaking me. I was laying on my bed in the dorm. He must have hauled my ass outta the shower and turned off the water, but the cold had made me fall more deeply asleep, so I didn't wake until later. It was dark in the room, and the drapes were still shut, blocking out the moonlight. Of course I had no trouble seeing Heero, who was sitting at my side. I yawned and shifted onto my stomach, burying my head under the pillow.

"Duo, wake up."

"I dun wanna," I whined from under my pillow. Heero pulled the pillow off my head and started to tickle me. I kicked him across the room in between my giggles., forgetting just how strong I was now. He wasn't mad, just a little disgruntled that I had been laughing so loud. With any luck some of the students in the building might actually still be asleep, but he doubted it, or so he told me. I grinned at him and got out of bed, the new, but somehow very familiar hunger awakening as soon as I started to move. I looked at Heero, who was opening the curtains to let the moonlight in. It was a little darker than it had been last night, the moon was waning. 

"You know what I'm going to ask you."

"Ah, you're hungry."

"Hai, where did you plan on taking me tonight."

"I don't plan on taking you."

"But Heero"

"You are very capable of finding something to eat on your ownI'm not going to completely abandon you Duo, I'm going to go with you, you're just going to do all the work. You have to know how to find something to eat for yourself, what if I get a mission and I have to leave? You can't expect me to lead you foreverI know its only been a few nights, but you learn quickly. If anything goes really wrong I'll be right there to help you out."

"I guess that's ok"

I looked into Heero's face nervously. Did he honestly expect that I could do this all by myself? And what about that witchI still wanted to read more of her book, and find out how three of the Tarot cards from her deck had mysteriously ended up in my dream, and on the bathroom counter in the middle of the day. Who could have known I would wake up and find them? Had she somehow managed to travel to the future? I reminded myself to look for the meanings of the cards when I came back, and while I was at it I planned to find out what The Fool card meant, and the 4 of Swords. Maybe there was a message that someone was trying to get to me. I clasped my fingers around the little silver cross that dangled from my neck, and got changed into a pair of black jeans and a red T-shirt with a Coke logo on it. My hair was loose, and it was six inches longer than it had been after Heero had cut it last nightwhich meant it was exactly as long as it should be. 

I went into the bathroom and locked the door, then got the scissors from the toothpaste drawer and looked at my reflection. I didn't think I would ever get used to how far from human I looked when I saw myself. The fact that my lips no longer had any colour was justweird. Maybe I would have to wear some kind of lipstick if I wanted to play humanlike when I started going to classes again. And my eyesI would have to learn how to make them look like they did before I got changed, the whole silver bit would never work. Still, even if my eyes and lips looked the same, wuld anyone believe I was human? Everything about my body had become soft, my hair was really shiny, unnaturally lustrous. My fingernails, now that I looked at them, were too clear, almost as if I were wearing nail polish, and when I moved, I didn't really look like I had moved.it was like I was a glass of water sloshing aroundeven I couldn't tell that I had to use my muscles to move my body, it seemed more like I would flow from one position to the next without any effort. I felt like I could do a triathlon and not be tired.endless energy. I drew back my lips and leaned close to the mirror, examining my teeth. They were the same as beforewell maybe a little whiterexcept, of course, for my eye teeth, which had become cleverly designed little fangs. Raising a finger to the tip of one tooth, I instantly felt it prick through my skin and a drop of blood managed to worm its way out of the tiny wound before it closed up, as if it had never been there. I would have to be careful of how I smiled, the fangs were definitely recognizable, they just weren't really dramatic and huge. 

Turning my attention back to my hair as I had originally intended to come in here for, I raised the scissors, gathered my hair together , and chopped it off so that it was about chin length all over. I had no idea what to do with the long hairs in my handsThey were all over two feet long, and I have thick hair, so there was a lot of it. However, as I watched, each individual strand began to dissolve and crumble away, until I was left with a pile of dust on the counter and in the sink. It was a little scary to seethere was a statement in the way parts of me turned to nothing as soon as they left me. It seemed like something was telling me that I was unrealthat I didn't matter. I took a breath and blew the dust into the air. It dissolved more, and never settled back down on the counter, it was just gone. Strange. I swung my head from side to side, testing the feel of lightness now that my hair was short, then I put the scissors awayand walked out of the bathroom to find Heero waiting for me. He was wearing jeans and a worn leather jacket that he had obviously had for awhile. If he hadn't taken care of it, it would have been nothing but rags by now.

"Ready to go?" he asked me when he saw me.

"Yessirlike the hair?"

"Short"

"Uh huh, I was wondering how it would look."

"Where are we hunting tonight?"

"UhhhI haven't thought of that yetwhere's a good place to go?"

"Don't knowyou have to choose."

"You can't help me at all? Is this a test or something? What do I get if I pass?" I grinned at Heero and sidled up to him, running my fingers over the smooth leather of his jacket and inhaling the scent of it. I pressed myself against him and kissed his lips, tugging on his bottom lip with my teeth, although I denied him my tongue even when he parted his jaws to let me in. "I guess if you can't help me then I can't kiss youuntil later. There's always later. Let's go, I'll figure out where we're going when we get there."

Heero hnned at me as if to say that he didn't like us going anywhere without a plan, but I ignored him and hopped out the window. He followed me quickly. I looked around. The city lay to the general leftwhich would mean we'd be travelling Southeast. That sounded fine to me, so I started off to the parking lot.

"Duo, where are you going? I won't let you look for people near the school, we could end up incriminating ourselveswe have a lot of reasons not to want to be caught."

"I'm getting us a driveif you think I'm traipsing through the woods when I could be driving you're a very crazy dead man Heero. Any preference for cars?"

"Noyou're going to steal a car?"

"Duh. Well, I'm going to borrow one, I'll return it."

"But we could be connected with a killing if somebody gets a licensee plate numberor fingerprintsor anything like that. Cars are dangerous.they leave a trail."

"I don't care. Fuck the trail, I'm driving. And I know just the ride I want" I couldn't suppress my grin as I walked up to the sweetest wheels in the lotbrand spanking new Corvette, black, of course. It belonged to Karl, whom I knew was no longer around, thanks to me and Heero. No one would miss this car for an evening. No doubt Heero had covered for my sloppy kill, telling the school some yarn about Karl going one place or another for awhile, so there was no way that he would be reported missing. Of course,, when he didn't ever come back and all his stuff, plus his car were left at the school, there would be a police investigation, and it was possible they would search the vehicle for clues, so I told myself firstly, that I couldn't let Heero know this was Karl's drive, and secondly that I would not leave evidence of any kind. 

It was a cinch to get in and disarm the alarm system. It took me one minute exactly to have the 'vette all wired up and ready to go. I have some experience in the car borrowing department. I unlocked the passenger side door for Heero and he climbed in, pulling the door shut behind him as I roared out of the parking lot.

"Duo, why did you pick Karl's car? This is really stupid of you."

"How do you know its his car?"

"I can smell him on the seatsyou probably never noticed Karl's smell before, because you were human at the time. I wasn't. Its easy to recognize people by scent. As disgusting as he was, he was usually showered, but he still had his own individual scent, and its all over this car. You are not thinking aheadyou have to remember that people will eventually figure out he is not on vacation"

"Yes mom, save the lecture for later, I think I can handle stealing some dumb fuck's car for the evening, ok? Jesus Christ, you're worse than a momI thinkI don't really remember actually having onebut you have to be worsenobody's ever nagged me as bad as you do."

"I just don't want you to get in more trouble than you have to."

"Look Heero, like yourself, I am a professional terrorist, and now I'm immortal on top of that. I've got it covered. Now, where are we gonna eat? The least you could do it tell me where not to go, so I know. What with the stolen car and all, you'd think I could stand to have a little help picking a restaurant. And damn I'm hungry I think I want two tonightmaybe one and a halfdunno. How hungry are you?"

"Go down the next alley on your right, all the way to the end, then stop the car."

"Finally decided to help me?"

"Something like that."

I followed Heero's directions, careful to keep the car in perfect condition. The mouth of the alley was narrow, but it widened out into a small parking lot. There was glass everywhere, I was careful to avoid it as I parked. I stopped the car and got out. Heero did the same. He came around to my side of the vehicle as I was looking around. There were some cats in the alley, no people that I noticed yet My search was interrupted as Heero crammed his fist into my face with enough force to kill. I was very glad I was not mortal as I sank to the ground in shock, blood trickling from my nose and mouth. 

I was very quickly back on my feet, glaring angrily Heero. He seemed unperturbed. "What the FUCK was that for!?"

"You're acting like an ass Duo."

"So you've taken it upon yourself to keep me in line?"

"No, I am making sure you understand that everything you do has consequences, and that stealing a dead man's car and parading around the city is not going to get you anywhere but dead. I know you think now that you're immortal you can do anything, but you can't. The world is run by humans.and although we happen to need their blood to stay sane and fed, they are in control. No matter how much you want to be more powerful than every orphaned kid on the street and every old lady sitting in her house all alone, you aren't, because every other person in the world is very ready to back those people up, no matter how much they don't like them. They will always hate us more. You can't change that. Being this way means that you are always going to hide, always going to runyou will eventually understand the weight of how many people you kill, and the fact that you are worth nothingI wish I could die, but I'm too scared to kill myself now, because of all the bad things I've done, all the people that had to die because I decided for them that they weren't going to live anymore. It's a fragile thing to convince yourself that you are almost doing good, rooting out the crooks and clearing away the elderly, but you will always know, Duo, that you are a killer at heart, and no matter how much you want not to be, you can't change what you are. I made you this way, you can hate me, but I know you won't. At least if I try and teach you a few things, then I will know that you aren't going to go out of control and start killing innocent people left and right. Being a vampire is about being selfish. You learn really quickly that the only thing that matters to you is you, despite how much you love and care for other things. It has to be this way, because you are the only thing that does not ever changeyou just watch everything around you move and flow, and you always stay the same. Does it make sense Duo? Can you see what I'm trying to tell you?"

I blinked and nodded at Heero. There was fire in his eyes.in his heart. He had lived all these years aloneno wonder he was convinced that things went one way, and that way was never goodI would have to change his view on things. But I didn't like some of what I was hearingI couldn't keep it to myself either.

"Sowe have powerbut we rely on people to stay powerfulwithout them, there is nothing?"

"Ahit's a sad circlewe feed on them, and they fear and hate us, Every kid probably wants to meet a real vampire and all, but it never seems to work out how they imagine, because at the heart of everythinga vampire is a parasite.a leech."

"Heeroyou must really hate yourself a lot"

"I do."

"I'm sorry I'm soyoung. And optimistic. Sorry I don't think the world is a black hole. Sorry I don't think everything sucks as badly as you are convinced it does. Sorry I'm hungry, and sorry that you decided to make me into this horrible monster instead of killing me. But you can't convince me Heero, that you saved me just because you are selfish. I don't believe it. I don't think I'm special, or really different from most peopleI deserved to die as much as any of the other people that you killed to stay full, but you didn't kill me. You changed me instead. What did you see that made you decide to change me? If you haven't made another vampire all your life.if you've gone for one hundred and seventy two years all alone, never brave enough to make a monster as bad as you are, then why did you decide that I was fit to be like you? I can't possibly be the first person you ever lovedit isn't that you wanted me all to yourself Heero.it isn't that you were afraid to let me die, there's something else, something more. What do you know? What made you change me? So many other people have what I haveI know I survive through more than I shouldI know how to handle death guilt pretty well, but those are skillsthey can be taught, or learned over time. What is so very fucking special about little ol' me that you had cause to try this? Did you even know if it would work when you tried it? You calculate everything. You analyze everything. I don't believe for a second that you expected to let me grow old and die. So there has to be some reason behind it all"

"There is. Maybe. I'm not going to tell you my view on what happened, and I'm not going to tell you how long I knew I couldn't let you die. You'll just have to accept that. Maybe you'll find out on your own. You probably will, like you said, you have skills.you're good at getting information. Either way, now you have eternity to think about all of this...but right now I am hungry, and I know you're hungryso I suggest we find something to eat before you run into the street and attack somebody."

I wasn't mad at Heero for not revealing his reasons behind everything he had done. And I was definitely famished by this point, so getting food now and talking more later was the best thing I could think of doing. 

I sighed and locked up the car (a lot of good that would do if anyone even half as smart as me decided to steal it, but what the hell), then walked out into the middle of the alley and tried to think of where I could find a person or two that I could hunt. It was harder than I thought it would be. You would think that being a vampire and all, there would be something to justify the fact that I really had no business choosing and picking who should die, but I had to make that choice, and there was nothing I could do about it. I led Heero out of the alley onto the street we had come from. I had already healed up from his punch, and the small amount of blood that had dripped down my face and neck had already turned to nothing and was gone on the breeze. Heero looked a little nervous...clearly he did not trust me to make a good decision tonight...or maybe he though I did not have enough self control to wait until I found people fit to die before I went berserk and killed something. Smart bastard.

There were a few shops lining this road, but they were all closed up for the night save a 24-hour convenience store/gas station. I looked around. There weren't very many people out. The smell of blood wasn't too strong around here, so I wasn't too intently thinking of foodI was attempting to concentrate on finding the right person. Heero had said I would feel something from the people who were ready to gobut I didn't feel a thing. It was frustrating, cause I could tell he knew that there were people in the area, and he wasn't telling me. I turned to him and grinned, trying to buy myself some time. I felt like I was being tested by him, judged. 

"Heerothis is hardI've never had to just randomly pick people off before"

"Take your time Duo, you have all night."

"I know, but I'm hungry now."

"Ok, I'll help you a little. Close your eyes. What can you smell?"

I did as he instructed and shut my eyes. "I smell grasscars, exhaust. Garbage, cigarettesthere's lots of people around hereI just don't know where they are. That's my problem. I could smell all this stuff beforebut it doesn't help me decide.."

"You aren't done yet. Shut up for a minute and listen. Don't look for anything in particular, just tell me what you can hear."

I listened. I took a few deep breaths, and listened to the noises coming from all around me. "I hear carssirens far away people walkinglittle things, maybe they're rats in a dumpster somewhere. I can hear a dog barking.there are bids flying somewhere overhead, I can hear their feathers in the wind.people breathing.I can hear blood, heartbeatssomebody is going to kill themselves in a building near hereand there is an old man with emphysema who doesn't want to get up anymore.he wants to die.I can hear how he feels Heero can't breathe"

Heero's hand on my shoulder snapped me out of my little trance of sounds that weren't really sounds at all, but feelings and thoughts of people around here. Someone was going to commit suicidebut they were young. I wanted to help them. And that poor old manhe deserved to be put to restthe poor fucker didn't have much time left anyway, I could feel that But now that Heero had snapped me back to where we really were, I couldn't tell where any of those things had been coming from. I looked at Heero, feeling overwhelmed by the things I had just sensed for the first time. I wasn't used to being able to feel things like that. 

"Who is going to die Duo?"

"I don't know"

"Yes you do. You have to choose. That person who plans to kill themselvesis it a good choice? Have they planned it all out, or do they just want it to be over? A suicide is a good cover for murder. But then, you have to think, is it really fair to help someone end their own life? What about the man you were talking about, the one who can't breathe anymoremaybe he would be a wiser choice. Of course, killing him is simply murderit always is. This is about playing God, you don't have a choice. Who's it going to be Duo?"

I looked at Heero in confusion, I had no idea. All these choicesnow I had to decide who to kill, it was down to the black and white decision, and I didn't know what to do. What if I messed up, made the wrong choice?

  


  



	16. The Vampire Heero; Ch.16

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Sixteen  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

I thought some more on what I could do, and closed my eyes, trying again to listen to the thoughts and memories of the two people I was stuck between. If there was going to be a life ended anywayit would be ok to make use of the person's blood before they died, right? This person was definitely serious about what they were doingit was a young girl. She had her daddy's gun, loaded and ready to go. I headed in the direction of her thoughts and feelings, opening my eyes once the trail was clear. I led Heero to a nice house, in a classy residential neighborhood. I knew which house was hersher pain was echoing off the walls in my head like a beacon now, leading me straight to her. She wouldn't open the door if I knocked. 

Heero wasn't saying anything about my choice, I was hoping he wouldn't say anything, even if he approved. I knew that his approval was only based on experience, and that no matter who I chose it would not be entirely wrong. He could understand that I was hungry, couldn't he? I thought about the little silver cross dangling around my neck. My hand absently went to it, stroking the metal that was as cold and hard as my skin. If it had been me making this choice when Solo was dyingI would have put him out of his miseryI think. Or maybe I would have turned him into a monsterI really don't know. There were a lot of things I couldn't decide at the moment, I told myself not to think about it right now, I had food to concentrate on.

I went around to the back of the house. The girl was in the basement, her room was down there. The doors were lockedbut I had my lock-picks with me. It took me less than ten seconds to pick the simple lock, and then I was slipping as quietly as I could into the house. There was the smell of popcornthe rest of the family was not home, of course somebody this intent on ending their own life wouldn't choose to do it when there was someone home. 

I opened the door to the basement as quietly as I could and crept lightly down the stairs. Heero waited at the top, and when I looked back for him he was right behind mehaving moved faster than my eyes could track. I suppose he was more comfortable being certain that he would not make a noise and spoil my hunt.

She was sitting on her bed, running her fingers over the cool metal of what I knew to be her father's gun. His illegally kept handgun is more like it. The gun he hid between the mattresses of his and his wife's bed, just in casebut the father was a killer. From what I got off of the girl, he was definitely not the kind of man who deserved his life. Maybe I would have to make a different kind of choice tonightif he was coming home. I turned to Heero and whispered, lower than human ears could detect.

"HeeroI'm not going to kill heras long as I don't see any blood, I think I'll be able to resistI want to kill her father. He deserves it. I want to talk to her."

"That's dangerous Duo.if you go around revealing your nature to people, you will learn the hard way that they aren't going to see you as anything but some kind of ethereally beautiful monster. You will have to kill her eventually to keep her quiet."

"But Heero"

"You're going to have to learn. Do what you want, I'm not going to stop you, I'm just warning you that you should not go around telling people there are vampires lurking in their neighbourhood. Even if you are nice to her, and you don't really make her scared of you, even if you kill her father, she will never ever sleep again, knowing what's out there."

"I'm willing to take that chance, I want to help her."

"Go ahead, you'll see. I'm just saying that you don't have to hurt so many people just to learn this lessonbut maybe you're different from me, and you need to see how much damage you can actually do before you realize what kind of power you have, even when you aren't using it."

I glared at Heero and followed my nose to the smell of a living person, the girl who was still looking at the gun. I stepped out of the shadows, revealing myself to her. I remembered that my hair was short now, for tonight. It would look strange to me, but I suppose she would have no opinion about it one way or another.

She froze when she saw me, and slowly lifted the gun so that it was pointing at me.

I smiled as disarmingly as I could and took a slow step towards herwhat was she going to do, shoot me? Noshe only wanted to hurt herselfnot me. 

"Hello Amy." I said quietly, showing her that not only did I know her name, but I wasn't afraid of her in the least, no matter what kind of weapon she was holding.

Amy kept the gun trained on me, but she was very scared now, I could see that. She sort ofwithdrew from mesinking as much into her covers as she could so that she seemed smaller. I wished that I knew how to move as fast as Heero, I would have snatched the gun out of her hand so that she couldn't do what she did, which was put the weapon to her temple. My brow lowered at first, and I listened to what was going through her head. I saw myself through her eyesStunningly pale and beautifulHeero had been right. An ethereal, dangerous creature.definitely not human. It was sad to see how far from myself I appeared to be now, but I put that, and the smell of her pounding blood out of my mind.

"AmyI know you aren't afraid to pull the trigger, but could I maybe talk to you for a minute before you do?"

Hesitantly, Amy brushed her damp bangs out of her eyes and slowly lowered the gun to the bed, flicking on the safety. I hadn't thought my words would be that effective, but I was glad they were. I walked closer to her and sat down on the bed beside her, taking the gun and emptying the clip. I slipped the ammo into my pocket and handed the gun back to her.

"Who.what are you?" Her voice was scared, but there was too much curiosity there to make her stay quiet. I smiled at her, more broadly this time.

"It doesn't really matter what I am.My name is Duo. I came here tonight for one reason, but now I have a different idea. I thought, that maybe if you were going to kill yourself, that I could drink your blood so that it wouldn't go to waste. But nownow I'm thinking maybe your father would make a better meal, Amy. I don't want you to kill yourself. I don't like seeing things die. But the man who owns that gun is wrong in the headmaybe you don't know this, maybe you do, but he has killed people. I don't pretend to have any kind of divine inspiration, maybe I am making a bad choice, what do you think?"

Amy stared at me through her straight, damp bangs. "You want me to choose?"

"No, I want to know what you think."

"How do you know my name?"

"I can read your thoughtsa little bit."

"Then you already know what I think."

"I want to hear you tell me. I can hear all kinds of things going on in your headbut maybe I have some of it mixed up. You could tell me how you feel very easily."

"I think you should do some research next time."

"Huh?"

"Do some research. I guess you're new at thissorry if that's some kind of insult or something. Anyway, if you had looked into this at all you would know that my father is already dead. He died last year. He was shot. He may have been a bastard, but I still love himhow could you think I would want you to kill him? Are you stupid or something?"

I would have blushed in embarrassment, especially knowing Heero was watching me, but I guess vampires don't blush. I looked down at my pale hands in my lap. How could I be so dumb? I must have been reading her memories, not thoughts about the present.

"Butwhy are you killing yourself then?"

"Honestly, that is none of your business no matter what you are."

I glared at the girl angrily. She was insulting meand the smell of her blood in my head was becoming overpowering. She didn't seem like she was very intimidated by me, and Heero's words had only managed to aggravate me. Now that I thought about itwhy should I let her walk all over me like this? Did it really matter to me whether she lived or died? Well there was the principle behind killing innocent peoplebut some things can just not be helped. So, like Heero had saidI was going to hurt more people than I had to to learn my lessons well. Of course, at the time I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about how stupid this dumb girl was. I was mad at her for insulting me, and my pride was stung.

I wrenched the gun from her hand and pinned her to the bed with my body. Obviously there was nothing she could possibly do to fight me, it took no effort at all to hold her down. I inhaled her scentshe was so aliveand such a bitch. I wanted to kill her.

Holding her with one hand I ran my fingers through her soft hair and over her skin. So warm.so aliveI licked her lips and closed my mouth over them, biting her tongue to get a taste of her. As soon as the first drop hit my tongue I was hooked, she tasted much better than the other people I had already tastedmaybe it was because she was innocent. I didn't want to rush this, although I was really hungry, its not like I gave myself much of a choice. 

She stopped struggling when I bit her, and looked into my eyes. She saw a monster. A beautiful, terrifying, merciless monster who had come to taunt her about her father's death before stealing her blood and killing her. And she was exactly right I guess. I moved my mouth to her neck and easily opened up her flesh with my teeth. This was like a drug, I couldn't help but gulp her blood down, it just tasted impossibly good. It was orgasmic almost. Pleasure filled my veins and my head sang. I sucked Amy dry in under a minute, holding onto her even after she was gone. I didn't have the strength to let go, I was overwhelmed by heat and pleasure. It must be sinful to feel this good, I thought to myself as I stared at her wide eyes without really thinking that she was dead. 

Heero pulled me off the bed at some point, licking my bitemarks shut with his own blood and shooting Amy in the head with her father's gun after getting the clip out of my pocket. He Didn't bother asking my permission. He used her still, limp hand to pull the trigger, then let everything fall into a natural position on its own. He glared at me, lying on the floor where he had set me, then left the house on his own. I was still in Amy's room, not having said anything to him or really moved since she'd died. There was something about her blood, something about the fact that she was innocentsomething about the way she was laying with one leg sticking out into thin air off the bed, although I couldn't see the rest of her at all.just something about the whole situation that made me feel like I was high.

I got to my feet, my head still swimming with the heat of her life that was presently crawling through me, and I staggered out of her house. I didn't want to think about how royally I had just fucked up, maybe it would go away if I didn't think about it. Her critical words still rang clear in my earsI was stupid, and I was new at thisbut it didn't mean I needed to make mistakes like this, even on the first hunt. Now a girl was dead, and a man who would have liked to die very much would live longer than he had to. I had made the wrong choice, that was clear to me. 

Frowning past the pleasure and warmth, I went back to the alley where I had parked the car. It was still there. Maybe it would be wiser not to take it back to the schoolbut if I left it here somebody was bound to find itand it would take too long to get back if I left without it. I got back inside and started the vehicle up, then tried to be inconspicuous as I made my way along the least populated streets back to the less densely populated areas, and the school. I drove into the parking lot, and replaced everything so that the vehicle looked exactly as it had when I first got to it. Nobody would know I had ever been insidewould they? I was leaving a slight trail of evidence behind me everywhere I went, not to mention a lot of bodies. It would not make sense to stay in this area for a long time, the city here wasn't big enough to support two vampires and not have anything look suspicious.

Trotting through the dewy grass under the small light provided by the crescent moon, I found my way easily back to the dorm and climbed in. As I expected, Heero was not back yet from wherever he had chosen to hunt tonight. Good. I had an idea, and I didn't want him knowing about it.

I slipped the key into the lock on the drawer beside my bed and withdrew the old deck of Tarot cards, running my fingers over the subtle flaws around the edges of the cards. Character, the deck had a personality. It was written in her book. Sometimes it told things that were in riddles. What was the deck trying to tell me? How had the cards escaped the drawer and laid themselves out on the bathroom counter in broad daylight, when I shouldn't have found them? How had the deck known what I was dreaming about?

I pulled the leather-bound Book of Shadows from under my bed and flipped quickly to the pages about Tarot. I could easily read the lightly scrawled words in the pale breath of moonlight, my vision was a lot better then it had been when I was human. I got a piece of paper and wrote down the meanings of five particular cards, the ones from my dream.

The Fool was the first card in the deck. It had to do with ambition and venturing off into the unknown with a high headbut it could also mean that a person was being naïve. The 4 of Swords designated rest and vacation and inner peacewas Solo on a journey to find something? Was he looking for answers? What did it have to do with me? Next I looked up the meanings of the three cards he had handed me. The Queen of Cups made me curious. It was about divinity and power and messengers. Right side up it was devoted and supernatural. Generally a good, healing, dedicated meaning, but reversed the card had something different to say. It became lonely and misunderstood. Almost lazy in misuse of power. Was I like that? It seemed terribly important that I find out what all of this was supposed to mean, and why it was important or significant. The High Priestess card warned me to be wary of strange people and things, because they could be a cover for something unearthly. The Tower card actually made sense. Abrupt change, life revision, power. That made lots of sense to me, after all I had just turned into a vampireI thought that was a pretty huge change that involved power. 

SoI was being warned it seemed, not to be lazy with my new powerI should be careful, because things were obviously not what they appeared to be. I tucked my notes into the drawer with the cards and put the deck away. Heero still wasn't back. I turned back through the book to the section about astral projection and out of body techniques. Meditation was importantand it was a good way to teach self control. After fucking up so very royally tonight I didn't want to do it again, I needed some self control. And I wanted to find out more about Solowhat was he looking for? 

I read over the pages several times, trying to decide what I wanted to do. Theoretically I could send a messenger, a part of myself to a certain place or time and whenever it was summoned back into me it would deliver information, but that required a lot of intense focus and a strong belief that it would actually work. I was a little too skeptical for out of body messengers just yet. However there were other optionsI guess one person could learn a lot when they had the patience that the owner of this book had hadit made me feel like I was silently being challenged by her, could I pass her test?

Chewing on my lip out of habit I thought about what I would do if I had the power to travel through time and space to he past. SoloI would go back and see if I could do something to keep him alive. But.was it possible to take people between time? Could I literally pull him out of the time that he had died and bring him here? Would it be the same between us? There were just too many variables, too many unanswered questions. I was sick of not knowinganything would be better than nothingright?

Laying down on my bed and closing my eyes, I thought that maybe I should just take a nap and talk to Heero when he came back. He would have the right thing to say to get my head screwed back on the way it was supposed to be. But if anything I'm an impatient little bastard.

I followed the instructions I had easily memorized, breathing deeply until I started to feel like I was sleepy. I methodically relaxed my whole body and worked my way through the sequence. The most difficult part...or so the book had said, would be getting up and out of my physical body and staying all in one place. Concentrating, I thought myself up and outit took less effort than the book had said it would. When I opened my eyes next I found my nose up against the ceiling. I took a startled breath and sat up. My head went through the ceiling, into the room on the floor above me. There was nobody inside.if there had been would they see me? How was I supposed to move like this?

There was no gravity where I was, but still I was able to turn myself around and walk on the floor of my room after I tried a few things. I prepared myself to see my body laying lifelessly on the bed, and it was there when I looked at it, breathing peacefully. I was here and out of my bodyweird. However nice this was I was still not going between times thoughhow on earth was I supposed to do that? Frowning, I walked over to the mirror in the bathroom. The light wouldn't turn on, I couldn't touch anything from the real world no matter how I tried. That was frustrating, and this whole thing seemed kind of boring now that I was actually doing it. I Would have preferred to be out hunting something with Heero or sleepingwhatever. Creeping around unable to touch or smell or taste anything sucks.

I completely lost track of time during my little trip around the room, and when Heero crawled back into the window, he walked over to my body and looked at me strangely. I watched from the other side of the room, curious about what he could sense f me. He sat beside my prone form on the bed and touched my chest.

"Duo?"

I watched, nothing happened. He shook me lightly.

"Duo"

I walked up behind him and grinnedhe couldn't see me or hear me.could he feel me? I stepped through him and he shot to his feet faster than my eyes could track, snarling and looking suspiciously around the room.

"Who's there."

"Can't you hear me Heero?" I said to his face and there was no sound to my voice. He made no response to my silent words, but his hands came up and brushed the air, like he was trying to touch me. I put my hand in his and he stiffened, looking at his hand.

"Who are youwhat do you want?" Heero was looking all around the room, he was obviously pretty spooked. I chuckled and walked through him again.

"So you can't hear meman what is useful about this if nobody else can see or hear me?" I spoke, although, as before, no sound actually left my lips.

Heero continued to look suspicious. He glanced to my body on the bed. Worry came into his eyes.

"What did you do to Duoanswer me damnit!"

I thought that Heero was probably freaked enough for one night, so I went over to the bed and touched my body. Instantly I was sucked back into it. The feeling of gravity came upon me so suddenly that the first thing I did was sit straight up and lose my dinner all over the bed. Heero whipped around to face me with lightening speed, looking at the blood all over me.

"What was that"

"I was teaching myself how to go out of bodyits in the book."

"Soit was you I felt?"

"Yeahspooked ya didn't I?" I had to laugh, I didn't like seeing Heero look so scared.

"I thought something had happened to you"

"Heerothink for a minute. I'm immortal, nothing is going to happen to me."

"You are overconfident." That was all he said. He glared at me, the concern gone from his eyes.

"Well its good to know I'm lovedman you're an assholeyou really can't admit that I got the better of you?"

"You didn't."

"See what I mean? I totally flipped you out and all you can do is yell at me."

"I wasn't yelling."

"WhateverI'm taking a shower."

Heero watched me get up and shut the bathroom door on him, and then I was in the shower, loving the nice warm water that took the coolness out of my skin and made the blood in me rise closer to the surface so I had some colour. I had only been this way for a few nights but I was already missing the feeling of being alive for real, not just the mock-life that I was fated to lead forever because of Heero. I didn't really hate him for what he had donebut when I thought about the animal way I had devoured Amy's blood it made me sick. I threw up again, watching the blood dribble down the drain. Enough of thisIt was a lonely world and Heero had made it more lonely. It seemed I wasn't getting along with him so well now that I was like himmaybe there was a lesson in that somewhere.

Drying myself off after rinsing away all the blood, I went back into the main room of the dorm and saw that Heero was reading the book I had left on the bed. I snatched it away from him and snapped it shut, holding it against my naked chest.

"Stay out of this thingits not yours."

"Its as much mine as it is yours Duoyou didn't even write it." He looked at me challengingly. Anger flared and made my skin colour.

"Jesus Heerojust stay out of it"

"Whatever you want Maxwell"

"Hmph."

I stuffed the book back into the drawer and locked it after placing the Tarot deck in with it. Then I went over to my dresser and pulled on some black silk boxers that made my pale skin look even paler. Finally I went over to the window to look at the slice of moon that lingered in the graying sky. Heero came up behind me, sliding his arms around me.

"I don't want to fight with you"

"Me neitherjust quit being a prick and we won't fight."

"Duoyou aren't being reasonable."

"Why the hell do I have to be reasonable all the timeHeero why should I be the one who has to have his head on right just in case someone else fucks up and needs saving I didn't ask for this"

Heero's lips were kissing my skin. He turned me around so that I was looking into his eyes. They were silver.inhuman. It made me want to hit him. I pulled roughly out of his embrace and frowned out at the moon.

"Duo stop acting like a child. You are what you are. Accept that. You've only just started outif you give up now then you'll be miserable forever."

"You're one to talkare you going to try and convince me that you're happy being a monster? I don't buy it."

"Iof course I'm not happybut at least I'm still trying"

"What, trying to pretend that you're doing good? Trying to pretend that one good deed will justify everything you've done to stay alive and sane? Bullshit."

"We are talking ourselves in circlesthis is pointless."

"So is life, but here I am livingsort of."

"You're depressed and cynicalI don't expect you to believe me if I tell you that there are things worth living for."

"Well for once you're perfectly right soldier boy I don't believe you."

"Fine."

"Fine."

He didn't say anything else to me for the rest of the night.

  



	17. The Vampire Heero; Ch.17

  
**The Vampire Heero  
Part Seventeen  
By Lady AngelFiren  
**

The next night passed uneventfully. Heero was gone most of the time. I think he went off somewhere to relieve some anger. When he came back his clothes were a little ripped up and he smelled like fresh death. I think Heero has some habits I should know about.anyway, as the sky was getting pink I felt really tired, I had spent most of the night out looking for somethingsomeone to eat, but I had ended up going hungry because I couldn't separate all the voices I picked up when I tried listening. But if anybody thinks I was about to let Heero know how hungry I was they are so deluded.

I was looking out the window. Heero came up behind me in his customary fashion, but instead of hugging me from behind he stood at the window beside me. 

"We're going to stay up today. We've both been out of class for too long, the school is starting to get suspicious."

"Heero, you see that pretty pink colour in the eastern sky? That would be the coming sun."

"Ah, and you'll have to live with it for today, because we are going to class."

"But that's impossible!"

"Try half a day."

"Hn."

Heero took my hand in his, but we were both cold so it didn't feel cold, just normal. He looked at me with the silver in his eyes very evident, and I had to admit to myself that it was attractivehis eyes being silver, but I would have preferred them blue. I felt faintly sick as the sky turned closer to blue and the sun threatened to singe me clear through upon rising. 

"The sun isn't going to melt youit'll just burn a little, and your eyes will hurt. Its important to appear human around other peoplethey will suspect that there is something different most likely, but nobody will believe the truth unless you lose control right in front of them. You must also make sure your eyes stay human looking, or you will give yourself away."

"Ok What happens if I screw up?"

"Then we will leave. We'll have to leave this place soon anyway."

My stomach did a few flip-flops as the sun breached the horizon. I was startled by the bright painful light invading my brain, my eyes, my skinit HURT! Fear sank through me quite suddenly, the only thought that occupied my mind was escaping from the evil light, but Heero's arms were wrapped tightly around me, he was forcing me to look into the sun.

"Let me GO!"

"Open your eyes."

"Let me GO!"

"Duo, idiot, open your eyes."

I growled beneath my breath and did as I was told. I couldn't see almost anything. There was just this massive whiteness, and a dark spot where Heero was standing between me and the sun. Nausea came over me, and my skin felt sore and tight. When your skin hurts, moving sucks, a lesson I had to learn over and over until I was smart enough not to move at all in Heero's tight embrace. I started to feel strange, spaced out. I thought maybe I might faint right then and there, or fall asleep on my feet. I was also sweating blood all over myself, my clothes were darkened by it around the neckline, and soaked with it down my back and legs. 

"H-Heero can I close my eyes, please"

"Ahare you sick?"

"What the fuck do you think? I can't see a goddamned thing and I think I'd like to throw up on you now." I was hiding it, but there was definitely fear at the heart of my complaints. I had never experienced a feeling like this beforelike I was being burned alive, or maybe microwaved. 

I felt Heero shift against me as he shut the drapes (again, why drapes in a dorm? I am never gonna figure this out), plunging the room into an amber-yellow glow. I cracked an eye open and discovered that I could sort of see now, at least it wasn't really extra painful this time around. Heero pushed me over to one of the beds and I let myself fall down on it without even looking to see whose bed it was. I sucked in a few breaths and rubbed at my hot, burnt skin. 

"Ouchhow long is this gonna take to heal?"

"Depends on whether or not you're actually going to feed yourself regularly Duowhen the hell was the last time you ate?"

"Just last night" *sweatdrop*

Heero's fist slammed into my stomach. I think he might have been a touch peeved. His voice got this really irritated tone to it. He was still quiet and composed, just mad at me too. 

"Duo are you trying to have an accident? Bakaif you don't eat then you are bound to lose control when it would be detrimental to someone else's life. You are putting innocent people in danger."

I was not about to let Heero beat me up and play daddy to me. I sat up and punched him back, in the jaw. Neither of us was actually hurt for real, it was more that we were both making sure that the other knew there was no fear involved herethat we weren't scared of each other.

"Heero I didn't do it on purpose, I just couldn't find anyone. I tried, but there were too many voices to separate."

"Then why didn't you tell me this BEFORE I stuck you in direct sunlight?"

"I didn't think there would be a difference"

"Well we'll try again tomorrow just go to sleep, I'm going to class. I'll come back here at lunch."

"What, to check up on me?" I shot angrily at him, feeling that I was being treated like a child.

"I was going to bring you something to eat"

"I can find my own food."

"Hn"

Heero glared at me and got up, peeling off the shredded up clothes he was wearing and going into the bathroom, presumably to shower. I pulled my covers over my head (turns out I had ended up in my own bed) and closed my eyes, relaxing as well as I could. On top of the burns (which didn't seem to want to heal instantly like the other wounds I'd had so far) I was now reminded of my hunger, and so all I could really think about as I tried to fall asleep was getting up and finding something to eat. I ran my tongue over my teeth repeatedly, and finally settled for biting my cheek and sucking on my own blood, just to have the taste of it in my mouth. I was fast asleep before Heero was even done his shower.

~*~*~*~

You can well imagine that I was confused and disgruntled when Heero came back into the dorm at lunch and started shaking me awake. Let me stress the disgruntledI like my sleep uninterrupted, thank you very much. I tried to slap him away from me without much success, he was way more awake than I was. I sat up, pouting, and squinting in the daylight. My brain felt fuzzy, like it was still asleep. Probably was. 

"What the hell are you waking me up for?" I asked in an annoyed, tired tone, trying to keep my eyes out of the overly bright sunlight.

"I told you I would bring you something to eat at lunch. Its lunch. I brought you something to eat."

Of course as soon as he said it the smell of the living invaded me and my stomach gurgled expectantly, begging me to eat. My teeth were aching, every part of me felt dry and thirsty. I heard soft breathing and looked through the bright room (actually it was nearly dark inside, but it felt bright) to Heero's bed, where a pretty young girl about my age was sitting, her face mostly blank. She had no identifiable expression, in fact she seemed not to know or care where she was and what was happening to her. Heero had obviously done something to her. My mind was filled with the sound of her beating heart. I got out of my bed and crept towards her, but Heero stopped me before I could touch her.

"Duo you can't just kill some girl in the dorms"

I glared at him wordlessly and tried to get past him, my hunger dictating my movements. He wrapped an immovable hand around my wrist and forced me to look into his silvery eyes. I squirmed and tried to get out of his grip so I could eat, but he wouldn't let me free.

"This girl is an Oz member, she has the information we are at this school for. Our mission is to obtain the information at all costs. Her death is acceptable, but she can't die until she talks, understand?"

I looked at Heero like I was a kicked puppyhe wasn't gonna let me eat this luscious creature sitting right in front of me, full of delicious blood and life and heat? I whimpered pitifully and tried to free myself, but his fingers held me in place effectively.

"Duo do you understand me?"

"I needHeero pleaseI'm so hungry."

"Not until she talks"

"But I have to"

"Learn control, its important. Question her."

He let go of me. I immediately lunged forward and pinned the girl to the bed, but Heero was quicker than me, he dragged me away from her before I could do so much as taste her skin. I received a slap to the face and an angry glare.

"Duo this is why its so important to eat at nightin the day you get twice as hungry, even if you're full already. Try again, this time don't think of her as food, think of her as a fragile piece of glass, that's what she is compared to you. You have to get information out of her before she can be broken."

"How come you don't just question her then? Since you seem so sure about yourself"

"I'm not the one with the eating problem here."

"Well.hmph. I'll try"

Heero let me go once more and this time I tried to ignore the smell of food as I inhaled deeply and sat on the bed beside the girl, who was still laying in the position I had put her in before. I frowned, looking at her face.

"What did you do to her?"

"Tranceit's a visual thing. You can do it too, just look into her eyes, you'll see."

I locked eyes with the passive girl and her thoughts started to stream into my mind. They were simple, she was terrified, but she couldn't move or speak unless she was told. I found that her name was Erika. She was 16. She worked for Treize Kushrenada as an undercover intelligence agent. She also knew all of the school computer access codes, which I made a point to memorize. Erika had a brother who was 11, and her parents were nice people. She had no wishes to die, although she was willing to do it if she had to. She also seemed to know that Heero and myself were Gundam pilots. This bothered me, I didn't like people knowing anything about who I really was. I placed a shaking hand on her shoulder (I was shaking from the desire to feed, but now my curiosity was stronger than my hunger) and told her to snap out of it.

"Erika, you may speak freely. You cannot escape, don't even try it. Also, you can't scream or make any noise that would get anybody else's attention. You are going to die here, accept that."

Heero sat down on my bed and watched me with interest, although he showed nothing of what he personally thought. He didn't seem to be especially impressed, but he obviously didn't think I was fucking anything up either, so I guess that's a plus. Erika blinked in fear and sat up slowly, scooting away from my hand, which was still on her shoulder.

"Y-you're cold" She said quietly, looking at me with fear in her big green eyes. 

I nodded to her.

"Is it scary?"

"Huh?" She'd caught me off guard with that one, I had expected her to beg for her life or something like that, not ask me questions. "Is what scary?"

"Beingbeing the way you are not alivecold. Is it scary?"

I frowned at her, feeling arrogant. I didn't want some person I wasn't supposed to give a fuck about asking me if I was scared of myself. Nevertheless I answered her honestly. "I would rather be alive" I noticed Heero wince a bit when I said that, he obviously wished that I was enjoying my life as a freak of nature. Moron.

"Why are you going to kill me?" She demonstrated no qualms with her oncoming death whatsoever, apparently when I told her to accept that she was going to die, it had worked. I blushed at her, I still wasn't really comfortable with my new diet.

"Because I'm hungry, and you're convenient."

"Oh. What happens if you don't kill me? Couldn't you just have a little now, and save the rest of me for later?" There wasn't any hope in her voice, I think she was just suggesting it because it had come into her head, she obviously didn't intend to save herself.

"No."

"Ok. The page about the cards holds the key to your desiresfind the fool in the past and take him to the future where he belongs. He will be happier alive. You will be happy too. The third will only be content when you are at peace with yourself you must teach the third how to forgive."

"What?"

"I didn't say anything"

"Yesyou just said-"

"I didn't say anything"

"But-"

"I really didn't say anything"

I frowned in confusion, I was sure it had been her speakingI wasn't completely nuts, was I? Either way my hunger was about to dissolve me from the inside out. I told Erika that she was very sleepy, and that when she fell asleep she would be ready to die. She easily dropped into slumber, slumping back on the bed as her limbs became limp. I crawled over her and breathed in her scent, feeling dizzy anticipation hit me. I opened my mouth and kissed her lips, biting them and her tongue deeply to draw blood. I sucked it off of her clear pale skin with greedy fervor, making cuts on her face with my teeth as I drank her up. Her heart was getting strained, it was having difficulty coping with my preternatural hunger. I finally grew impatient with the insufficient trickles of blood that came from her face and mouth, so I moved lower, to her neck, and bit there as a contented feeling started to buzz in the back of my head. I felt lusty now, hot. I could feel the living blood circulating through me, I felt like I was alive. I crushed my hands around Erika's shoulders and sucked on her veins as hard as I could, straining her heart to the point that it simply stopped. I ended up with a mouthful of dead blood, but it tasted good to me anyway. I pushed myself off of her body, watching the ceiling and feeling drunk and lecherous. I grinned to myself as the hot blood circulated through my body. I felt very sleepy, totally content. Erika's confusing commentary was momentarily forgotten as my brain basked in the pleasurable glow of her blood. I sighed and shifted onto my side, pulling the blanket onto myself and closing my eyes. Sleep rolled over me like a ton of bricks and I was out cold in a matter of seconds. I never heard Heero leave the room, in fact I don't even know that he did leave, except it would be like him to go to classes, so I assume that's where he spent his afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~

The smell of death eventually woke me up around dusk. I groggily yawned, feeling green from the disgusting smell of a rotting body close by. I cracked my eyes open and found myself staring at the sleeping face of a young girl, except she was dead rather than asleep, and my ultra-sensitive nose was picking up the first signs of decay within her body. So I was sleeping with a corpse all afternoon. Delightful. I frowned and scrambled out of the bed, ending up on the floor. The whole room smelled disgusting to me, like a rotten crypt or something, only fresherriper. She was a little swollen, I could see puffiness around her neck and her mouth had slipped open. Her tongue was slowly expanding in her mouth. Thinking about the juices that were rotting in her corpse made me totally sick, I couldn't stand it. Panic rose in my chestwhat was I supposed to do with a corpseI didn't want to touch it. I clawed at my face, trying to drive the imposing stench out of my lungs, but I succeeded only in making it worse by breathing harder.

/Fuckthis is disgustingwhat am I supposed to dothere's a corpse in my room./

I threw on some pants and a T-shirt, not bothering with my shoes, and not thinking about my hair, which happened to be a rat's nest of tangles mingled with bits of dried, flaking blood from god-only-knows-where. Dashing into the hallway and slamming my door as fast as I could, I wasn't able to escape the stench. It was invading me, it was clinging to me like a bad habit. Random students got out of my way if they didn't know me, and the people I did know stared at me like I was a completely different person than they remembered from before. I had a strained, panicked look on my face, and I think I knocked down a few people in my hurry to get away from that terrible smell. My eyes were completely silver, my face was covered in bits of blood, and my skin was white like marble. I happened to run into the one figure that I couldn't knock over when I was about halfway though the building - Heero. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard, then pulled me into a bathroom and locked us together in the wheelchair stall.

I looked at him with confusion, I didn't even recognize him at first. As soon as I stopped moving the stench invaded me again and I had to rub my face just to be able to stand existing alongside that smell. Heero held my hands in his so I couldn't touch my face, which made me start to shake, because I couldn't cope with the horrible smell. 

"Get a grip Duo. What are you doing running around in the halls?"

"I can't help itthe smellits TERRIBLE! I can't stand itI was sleeping with a corpse in the same bed as methe smell is in meits in my clothes.Heero I can't get away from it!"

"Duo, think a little, its just a smell, it can't hurt youyou can't get hurt by dead things. This isn't worth running around the school looking like a vampire over."

I fought Heero's firm grip on my wrists with fruitless effort. Finally I collapsed against him, holding my breath so I wouldn't have to inhale the disgusting death smell that was clinging to everything. I felt drained, sick and scared. I was hungry, but nauseous. It pretty much sucked to be me at the moment. 

"You're ok." Heero wrapped me in a hug and kissed my face with his cool lips, becoming the personification of calm for me. I accepted his affections without any comment, I was feeling too upset to do much of anything. 

Of course this was the perfect time for me to remember somethingparticularly the fact that I had received a message before devouring Erika's blood. " The page about the cards holds the key to your desiresfind the fool in the past and take him to the future where he belongs. He will be happier alive. You will be happy too. The third will only be content when you are at peace with yourself you must teach the third how to forgive." What a messagesomeone was definitely having a great time fucking with my headit was making me mad. More like scared, but I wasn't gonna let on about that. I whispered Erika's words to myself. Heero looked at me strangely.

"She saidbefore I killed her she gave me that message. I think someone upstairs is trying to reach me, cause all these random things keep happening, and they all fit together in this neat little puzzle. I meanI know who the Fool isbut what Erika suggested is impossible. Supposedly. However, the book in my nightstand tells me otherwisedo you think I should try and save Solo? If it means I'll be happy I should do it, right? I don't get the last partabout the third. I'll figure it out eventually.for now I guess I should work on my Astral Projection so I can get my Fool back ne? Heero do you think I should do this? If it doesn't work out I could get stuck in the past."

Heero looked at me quietly, he seemed to be contemplating my words. His eyes were silver, I think he made them that way whenever he wasn't disguising himself from people, maybe he liked himself better this way? 

"You should be happy" He said eventually, before giving me a final amiable squeeze and unlocking the bathroom stall so we could walk back to our room. I was stopped by him before I could actually go anywhere, he wanted to fix me up to look more human. I guess the white marble skin and bloody hair were kind of a giveaway as to what I was. Heero pinched my cheeks some for colour and rustled my hair until all the blood flaked out of it. It was simpler than you'd think to get me clean, vampires don't stick to anything for long, including dirt and dry blood. 

He walked with me back to our dorm, but we had a big shock when we returned to it. There were people crowded all around the doorway, but nobody cold enter the room because of the thick yellow tape that was laced over the doorway. I frowned, wondering what was going on, but it just didn't click in my head that I had left a corpse in my room with the door open. Obviously someone had come in and found Erika's body. There were a few police officers inside, they all looked up with grim faces when I barged through the yellow police line in angry shock.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked, looking from the body on my bed which was covered with a yellow tarp, to the middle-aged cop currently holding a gun to my chest. Heero had wisely stayed behind the barrier, and nobody was so much as looking at him. All eyes were on me. I opened my mouth to defend myself, and the cop cocked the gun, looking at me fearlessly. I was starting to realize that I was not in the best of situations, after all I did not look at all human right now, what with the white flesh and silver eyes. To add to things I had already revealed my fangs too, when my mouth had dropped open in shock upon my entrance. I slowly raised my hands, not saying anything at all. The cop slapped a pair of gundanium hand cuffs over my wrists and smirked at me.

"Duo MaxwellYou are under arrest for the murder of Erika Reeves. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to remain silent, please come with me."

The cop started to lead me out of the room. I didn't budge at all, I rooted myself to the floor and took a second to ignore everything that was happening and prioritize, I could get out of this...I was a preternatural creature with preternatural speed and strengthI could easily escape. And the worst that could happen was getting shot, which really wasn't so bad at all. However escaping with the Book of Shadows intact was going to be more difficult, and I knew that I needed the book as soon as I could get my hands on it. The officer tugged on my cuffs and I didn't respond, so he struck me in the back with his nightstick. It didn't hurt, I was busy thinking. It was almost funny, how he couldn't get me to budge if I didn't want to.

"Mr. Maxwell, please come with me now," he said with some difficulty, clearly not understanding why I couldn't be moved. I leaned towards him and looked him in the eyes, wondering how Heero did that cool hypnosis thing, like he had done to Erika. The smell of death was really bothering me, but I knew I needed the book, so I wasn't about to wuss out just yet. 

"I'm not going anywhere until you explain to me why I am being arrested, officer. I'm not even legal yet, I'm too young for this!"

"Keep your mouth shut and come with me, NOW."

"No! You can't prove I did this"

The gun that had been pointed at me before was drawn out again, and pressed to my belly. "Mr. Maxwell. You clearly don't understand the gravity of this situation. You are under arrest for murder. You are going to rot in jail, and it'll only be worse unless you come with me right now and do as I say. I am out of patience." There was a rough jerk on the cuffs. When I didn't move I felt the gun being pressed harder into my stomach. I took a step towards the door, my eyes on the drawer of my nightstand, which was hanging open, empty. I flipped.

"Where the hell is my book you cock-sucking assholes? You can't take that from meI need it!" I jerked away from Dumbass Cop #1 and dashed over to the drawer, glaring heatedly at its empty state. I whirled around, a growl bubbling up in my throat and my fingers clenching and unclenching in quick, angry snapping motions. I pulled as hard as I could on the cuffs, but the gundanium seemed to be stronger than I was, plus it was daytime out, adding to my weakness. I couldn't escape right now, but I'll be damned if they thought I was just gonna lay down and die for them. That wouldn't be very Duo-like, now would it?

I smacked Dumbass Cop #1 in the face with my arms, smashing his teeth into shards of broken white dotted with red. Blood seeped out of his mouth and down his uniform, soaking into the dark blue material and seemingly disappearing. My hunger rose up in the back of my throat, something akin to a human person's adrenaline rush possessing me with equal or greater power. I felt invincible and starved, like a hungry wolf set in the middle of a kindergarten lesson. My grin was totally manic, the two white fangs showing with eerie clarity in the afternoon light. A quick glance at Erika's covered body told me that she had died to give me a message, and I was going to do what I had to, to fulfill her wishes.

The smell of blood filled the room and lent my brain an extra hint of insanity. I tried again to free myself of the cuffs, and once more I failed, but then I realized that I was more than a collection of muscle and marble, I was also a former street rat, and an escape artist extraordinaire. I dislocated my thumbs and slipped free of the cuffs, licking the blood off my spattered fingers with an eager tongue. I adored the disgusted look on Dumbass Cop # 1's face when he saw my tongue dart out and lap up his blood, it made me feel like I was in control of the situation. He had this shocked look on his face, like he simply couldn't believe I'd hit him hard enough to knock his teeth all to shit on the first try. I grinned maniacally at him, flashing my teeth with confidence. I admit, I was basically a monster at this point, but what would you do if you were arrested for this, and some dumb pigs tried to steal your only important possession? So my anger was justified, you see.

I glared around the room, the low growl that had started in my chest never quite dropping out of earshot. I found it pleasing to make such a threatening sound, I liked it. But I really just wanted to find whoever had my goddamned book and kill them. Slowly. I looked at Dumbass #1, he was staring at me in total shock and fear, his mouth bleeding all over the place. He didn't have my book, but there was still defiance in himhe was trying to get his bloodslicked fingers wrapped around his gun so he could use it to shoot me.fat chance he had of accomplishing that. 

There were two other cops in the room, Pigs #2 and #3. #2 was hovering beside Erika's body, as if it offered some kind of protection for him. Right. I snatched the gun out of #1's holster and twisted it into an excuse for a piece of bent metal, handing it back to the startled, bloody cop with a friendly smile. I was itching to taste him straight, no more of this licking second-hand blood from my fingersbut for now I had better things to be doing. I wished now more than ever that I knew how to hypnotize people like Heero could, but that just wasn't something I had learned yet. I thought maybe I should try anyway, but that would be wasting time.

Instead of trying out the hypnosis I strolled through my dorm room over to Pig #2. I held out a hand, wondering how intimidated this guy was by me. Would he shake my hand on policy or was he smart enough to try keeping things to himself? He was a little brainier than the first guy, he shrank back from me, not meeting my eyes. He was shivering, his gun was in his hands, but the safety was on. Overall he looked pathetic, and there simply wasn't any sport in hunting something that was frightened of me, that's like a little kid chopping a worm up into itty bitty pieces and getting mad at the worm for not being capable of escape or self-defense. I'm not that much of a killer, cut me some slack here

I took a seat on the bed, pulling the yellow cover off of Erika so I could look at her. Someone had opened her eyes, they were staring at me dully, a look of half shock, half curiosity in them. I didn't want to touch the stinking, rotting corpse, but I wanted her eyes shut. I gently pushed the lids down with my fingers, a solemn look coming over my face. The reason I'd pulled the cover off of Erika wasn't to look at her, she was dead, I didn't give a fuck about how she looked. I wanted to see what I had done to her, so that when I spoke to the Pigs, they would believe I was telling the truth. Honestly I didn't clearly remember everything I said and did to her, that whole scene in my life had melted together so that the only really significant, memorable part of it was the message. There was blood all over her face, it was crusted onto her skin in flakes and dark red chunks. Old, dry blood smells gross, but its nothing compared to the smell of flesh decomposing, even if it'd only recently started to do so. I had the urge to cover my mouth and nose with my hands, but I knew nothing would keep my overly powerful senses from detecting the fetid stench, so I didn't bother. I ran my pale marble fingers over the scratches that covered Erika's face, they were bite marks from my teeth for the most part. I had ripped some of her hair out with my fingers, so her scalp had also started to bleed before she'd croaked. The blood was now a sticky, smelly mess gobbed in her hair and pasting some of her short bangs to her forehead. 

All this was disgusting in itself, and I was glad that the cops were scared enough of me not to do anything as I inspected my victim's corpse with great interest. I couldn't get over it, now that I was able to cope with the smell, death was actually interesting to me. It couldn't touch me, why should I fear it? The way things swelled and puffed up after they died fascinated me at the moment, I wanted to explore more. The crown of people had diminished some when I'd arrived, but there were still a good fifteen students standing outside the door, they were all watching me with disgust on their faces. At least they didn't have to smell what I could smell, it was rank and foul, but it would take a lot longer to be a strong enough smell for human noses to detect. Heero was also amongst those watching, I took a second to lock gazes with him. His prussian eyes watched me closely, he seemed to understand my sudden fascination, and as there was no true danger to us at the moment, I am guessing he thought it was ok for me to be doing this. Heero confuses me sometimesbut I was occupied at the moment anyway, its not like I wanted him to drag me outta there.

Returning my attention to Erika, I looked at the way I had carelessly bitten her lips in several places, even making a few holes all the way through them with my teeth. Her tongue had also been sliced by teeth, but it was currently swollen up, blocking her throat and making her look sick and fat. I turned my face away from hers, never taking my cold fingers off of her cold skin. She was dead and cold, so was I in a sense. Nothing to be disgusted by, right? Still, doesn't mean I had to like it, but I wanted to educate myself as best as I could. There was a gaping slice in her neck, right in the place I had bitten her and slashed open her jugular, letting the biggest, most devastating gush of blood into my mouth. Just thinking about the pleasure I'd felt while drinking from the hot red fountain in her throat made me hungry once more. My classmates didn't need to see anyone else dead today, I would just have to control myself. It was hard though, each of them would make a great meal, and they'd be more interesting than strangers.

I sighed and pulled the yellow thing back over Erika's body. Pig #2 was standing a little further away from me now, closer to the door. He was clearly terrified, but he wasn't about to run away without satisfying his curiosity. I wasn't worried about him. I also wasn't worried about #1, who was getting light-headed and tripping over his own feet from blood loss. Its Pig #3 who presented the biggest threat now, he was holding a thick, messy looking book, a book I knew he'd retrieved from my nightstand, after busting off the lock. I looked at his eyes, they were gray, and hard. I couldn't see into him so well, not like most people. I hate hard-ass cops, they are only hurting themselves by acting that way. There was also a gun in this guy's hand, and the safety wasn't on. That scared me, cause this guy looked ready to kill, and I honestly know what that look is like; I've killed lots of people with a gun, and I've been shot at a bunch of times too.

"Mr. Maxwell, I don't know what you arebut I am not letting you escape. Monster.you're a killer. You will be brought to justice, You-"

I stepped real close to the guy and he shut right up, pushing the gun against my belly, although my body was completely unyielding. "Shut the fuck up pig, you don't tell me what to do. I am walking out of here, and unless you want your kids getting a phone call telling them their daddy's dead, then you had better put the fucking gun down. Sound like a plan? Good. Now down with the gun, or off with your head, and I am completely serious, Yes, I did kill Erika, if you must know I drank her blood and it was delicious. Anything you don't understand about that, Sir?"

"Just oneI bet not even you can take a bullet asshole" Pig #3 squeezed the trigger before I had any chance of getting the book from him. I don't know if it was just me, or if it was everything else too, but I swear time slowed right the hell down as that piece of lead sailed through the air, straight for me. 

Now, let me pause right there and ask you a simple question. Have you ever taken a bullet in the face? Do you have any idea what it feels like to have your skull cave in with the force or a bullet slamming into it Do you know what its like to feel the pressure in your head going haywire so that your brains literally start to leak from your ears? Now I know what that's like, and lemme tell you this, it really makes you see immortality for what it ispreternatural power. Power above what anybody else can really understand. Nobody takes a bullet to the head and lives through it, not unless they have what I have. That may sound like a complete ego trip, and maybe it is, sorta.but its really incredibly scary too. That bullet shot through the air at top speeds. The guy was aiming to kill me, he fired a perfect, unwavering shot, and it crashed through one of my eyes, straight into my brain. Pain exploded in my head like white fire, nothing I had ever experienced came half as close to hurting as much as this hurt. Immortality does nothing to deaden pain, it just makes it irrelevant. I went down fast, instantly, blood gushing from my eye down my face. I couldn't see anything at all, the only thing I could hear was the echo of the bullet hitting me and destroying my face. I was unconscious before the shot made it all the way through my head, but it exploded out the back of my skull, ripping away a good portion of my head as it went. Blackness surrounded me completely. I never felt myself hit the dirt. I was dead, I had to be, but this isn't the end of my story so obviously somethingsomeone, saved me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TBC

~~~~~~~~~~

Fuck, FINALLY I'm done another part! I was watching Ginger Snaps, that's what gave me the boost for the final part of this chapter, my brain got stuck on the gore/violence setting and I couldn't budge it from there. I hope the cop scene was ok, I've only been apprehended once and I never actually got arrested, so I don't really know what they say to ya. Duo isn't schizo, honest! He's just having a little trouble adjusting, plus he doesn't like people pissing on his tires. 

  



	18. The Vampire Heero Ch18

The Vampire Heero; Part Eighteen By Lady AngelFiren  
  
Disclaimer: Firen Donna own'um Gundam Wing, and she's not makin the monnies, so donna sue!  
  
Warnings: Vampires, Shounen ai, (2+1/1+2 my first non-lemony fic O.0), violence, blood, sexual assault, deathfic (it's a good thing though, you'll see), some angst, OOC Heero, and probably OOC Duo as well.  
  
Additional warning: I know this is a vampy fic, but there isn't a lot of the traditional vampire lore. I don't really like lore, so there isn't almost any here. I made most of the "vampire stuff" up myself to create a new kind of vampire, I hope it turned out ok, tell me what you think. In any case, the vampires aren't totally run-of-the-mill (or at least I don't think they are, but they very well may be)  
  
Please send C&C! More of this will be up soon!!!! Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Vampire Heero; Part Eighteen By Lady AngelFiren  
  
When I started to become conscious once more it was only for a few moments at a time. I was someplace dark, dark enough that I could see only a brief outline of the room around me, and nothing beyond that. No colour, no sound, no nothing. I was filled with pain, my head ached as if I'd been shot.but I couldn't make myself stay conscious, I would wake up, take in a little information about my surroundings, and pass out again. I didn't remember anything having happened to me that would hurt this much. I didn't know my name or anything about myself, all I knew was that there was an aching, burning NEED inside of me, and it was more powerful, even, than the pain that was keeping me unconscious most of the time. Each chance I got to be awake for a bit the ache grew stronger, and finally I could think of nothing but how badly I NEEDED, although what I needed was beyond me. For the most part I woke up alone each time, although if you would have asked me, I would have told you that there was definitely someone else in the room with me.  
  
I have no idea how long I spent this way, time wasn't really something I thought about, all I knew was that I NEEDED so incredibly intensely that I couldn't stay sleeping anymore. Not until I had filled the NEED. Unfortunately, by the time I was done having that thought I was out once more, and the next time I awoke there was definitely something in the room with me. This time, there was a little more light. I thought that I was somewhere high up, the sound of traffic came from way below me, a distant hum that pushed through my aching skull ceaselessly from the moment I started to hear it. I thought I might remember something.someone important.but I had to have whatever it is that my body wanted, I couldn't think clearly unless I had what I was craving.  
  
I struggled against the need and managed to get one eye open, the other one wasn't responding to my thoughts at all, but I could feel it was there, just not functioning. It tingled slightly beneath the pain, almost itched, right inside my head. Healing pain, but still sore. My one functioning eye spotted a hazy looking silhouette sitting beside me, watching me. I couldn't tell much else, except that this creature gave me the willies. Creepy. I think it was a he -there weren't any breasts in the silhouette- but the smooth way his face was shaped made me wonder at first if I was wrong.  
  
A soft voice, quieter than I thought I could clearly hear, spoke up from the dark shape sitting by my side. "Duo.how are you feeling?"  
  
His voice sounded good, I almost wanted to smile at its texture, but I was in a bit of a tight spot to be moving around and making facial expressions, I couldn't even think about what was said to me because of the aching that was getting to be unbearable. I opened my mouth to try and express this, but only a dry croak came out, and attempting to move my tongue made me hungrier. I forced my voice into existence as well as I was able.  
  
"Nnnn.I.need.. . please.."  
  
I felt two strong cool hands envelope mine, as the dark figure leaned over me. He didn't smell much.like he wasn't really there. but I think there was a hint of wildflowers on him, mixed with a scent that I could only determine to be appetizing. I was desperate for something to satisfy my poor cringing body, I NEEDED, and this creature had what I needed, or at least he would know how to get it. So I begged him, not knowing what else to do.  
  
"Please.It burns..please..please help."  
  
The hands squeezed mine, and a smile flashed over the handsome face. I could see him now, he had flicked on a light, allowing me to get a look at him. Shaggy brown hair fell over his face, trying to hide his eyes, which were silvery and luminescent. His mouth was small, pouty. When he smiled I could see that his teeth were white and perfect, but there was something that scared me too, he appeared to have fangs, like a vampire would, only smaller. The guy's skin was so white, it freaked me out how pale he was, I didn't think that he could be human, not with the eyes and teeth and skin, plus he didn't really have a scent. But I wasn't really scared, I just felt a deep craving that went straight through me, aching in big painful throbs.  
  
"I know you're hungry Duo.there isn't anything to eat right now, but I could go get you something.is that what you want?"  
  
".Am I Duo?"  
  
Fear went through the boy's eyes, they shifted to blue and he looked at me strangely.  
  
"Yes.of course you are. Do you remember what happened to you?"  
  
My insides squirmed.I had no idea what had happened to me.was it something big? Must be, if I was laid up like this for any length of time. My skull pulsed merrily to the beat of my confused thoughts, intensifying everything I sensed.  
  
"I don't know.I can't think.I need something."  
  
The boy nodded at me, his hands still in mine. "Duo you will remember about yourself soon.you got shot in the face.your head was totaled. The entire back part of your skull was blown to shit, and you lost an eye. You'll be fine, it just takes some time. Do you remember anything? Do you remember me?" There was hope in the guy's face now, he wanted me to remember him, obviously. But I didn't. I thought he looked kind of familiar, but really, when I got down to details, I knew diddly squat.  
  
"I don't think I've seen you before." I said quietly, speaking over an especially intense wave of gnawing need that came from within my body. "What is wrong with me.I feel like I'm going to die.like there's something in me.fuck.what the hell is happening to me?"  
  
"You're hungry Duo.you need to eat something. You were shot a few days ago, three, actually. I got us out safely without too many casualties..but there is something left behind that you still need to get.I suppose I should just wait until you get your memories back, its impossible for you to stay injured, you will get better. I don't know how long it will take though. In the meantime I'll get you something to eat.I should be back in half an hour tops. You'll live that long, guaranteed."  
  
He got up to leave but I quickly snatched his hand in mine so he would look at me. "Wait.what are you?" I asked him, gritting my teeth against the burning in my veins.  
  
He blinked at me in total surprise. "I'm a vampire Duo.the same as you are. You'll remember eventually. Don't get upset.it won't help anything. Now will you stay here until I get back? You aren't exactly a pretty sight just now.I don't think the general public would approve. But we don't have to be seen, so if you want to come with me that's fine too. I expect that you're really hungry.injuries take a lot of blood to help get healed. You haven't had any fresh blood- for too long.nothing at all since you were shot.that's why you're body feels the way it does. Vampire hunger is different from human hunger. Are you following me on this now?"  
  
".I think so."  
  
I swallowed with some difficulty, my brain pulsing with intense hunger. Now that I knew what I was craving, all I could think about was exactly that -blood. I didn't care about the details just now, that could all wait.  
  
"Take me with you.I'm too hungry to wait.I need it now."  
  
The guy, whose name I still didn't know, nodded curtly and pulled me into a sitting position by my hands which were in his. My head spun terribly when I sat up, my vision went completely white and I passed out quite abruptly, leaving him to find food for me on his own.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
My instincts and hunger woke me up at the same time that the other vampire returned to the room with my meal, an elderly woman who appeared to be totally out of it, she was staring ahead at nothing, and she didn't move unless he told her to, from what I could see. The first moment I saw her that was it for me, there was no considering values or morals or anything else, there was only myself and my meal -the woman. I leapt on her from the bed, not knowing I was capable of such feats and performing them anyway. I hit her face with my hands, wrapping my fingers around her head and bringing her towards me.  
  
I encircled her with my arms and tore into her throat with savage glee, getting blood everywhere as I couldn't remember having any experience in taking lives, so I really had no technique at all. It was pure instinct for me to find the major arteries in her throat and bite down on her shriveled skin, piercing it easily and allowing the delicious, hot, wonderful blood to get everywhere, mostly in my mouth. I sucked back several fast mouthfuls before I felt the other vampire's arms wrapping around me from behind. He was trying to take my meal!  
  
I smacked him hard in the face with my fist, sending him flying into the far wall of the small room. He hit it and stuck into the plaster, but I was already going back to the marvelous red life leaking all over me, my eager tongue flicking out to devour random spills of blood before I fastened my lips around the woman's wrinkled neck and pulled on her hard. Great fat mouthfuls of hot blood went into me, but all I could think was that I needed more.  
  
I never did hear the other vampire get himself unstuck from the wall, my body and brain were overcome with a sort of drunken pleasure that caused me to feel lusty and dizzy and violent all at once. I desperately wanted to keep drinking, but I also wanted to kill the woman in my arms quite badly. I ended up rupturing her heart with my incessant drinking, the organ simply couldn't handle me and continue pumping blood. She gasped happily and died in my arms, her eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling with glassy dullness. It was funny, she looked totally shocked. I grinned and bit the body, sucking out some of what was left, but it wasn't the same now that she was dead. I didn't care that I had destroyed a life just now, I was still hungry for more. I dropped the woman on the floor and let her hit it with a blunt thud. I giggled, picked her up, and dropped her again. The sound was funny too, so I did it once more before a quick hand snapped shut around my wrist.  
  
"Duo what the hell are you doing.don't you have a little more respect for the dead than that?"  
  
"No.should I?" I asked, blinking at the vampire grasping onto my wrist and holding me in place. He growled at me, literally.  
  
"Yes! Hn.I brought you more to drink.but you have to pace yourself. Take a few minutes and let that one sink in before the next.try not to be so violent with them, they are innocent people.also I was going to bring their bodies away with me after you were feeling up to helping me, so the more you dismember them, the more work you get to do cleaning them up."  
  
"Just one question," I said, looking at his face. There was a droplet of blood dried onto his cheek. I leaned close to him and licked it off with a smirk. "What the hell is your name?"  
  
"Heero."  
  
"Nice, thank you. I won't be messy anymore."  
  
My head was still pounding, and the first old lady had only awoken the hunger, it took two more to satisfy me. After that I started to get patches of my memory back. See? All it took was some fresh blood. I remembered things backwards, so the first stuff I got back was the scene with the cops in my dorm, and the last memories were of Solo and a faint glimpse I could sort of recall of my mother.or at least that's who I think it is, she could have been a nurse or just some random lady for all I know.doesn't really matter. By sunrise I was cracking jokes with Heero and asking him if he wanted to pass some time with a little casual sex. He turned me down on the basis that I was a lunatic. I cackled at him and gave him a thorough kiss, squeezing his butt just because I could. Our stone flesh matched, paleness against paleness, and I was happy. I had neglected to ask him how he got me out of the school, and what loose ends were left to be tied up. Also, I wanted to know why he had wasted all this time watching over me, when he could just have well let me heal in prison and bust me out after I did some damage to the guys inside. Maybe he'd thought about this, but maybe he just saw it as a more logical decision to take me now and save himself the trouble later.  
  
I pushed the nagging stream of thoughts out of my poor trampled brain. I needed a break big time, and I knew that it was now or never. Seeing as I was full up on blood and I had nothing particularly significant to do for the rest of the night, I grabbed Heero and pulled him onto the living room couch, forcing him to look at me with his luminescent silver eyes, just so I could see him. I grinned happily and washed his face with small pleasures, kisses that were light, but still an effective method of softening the marble beneath my lips into something more fun to touch.  
  
"Heero I think you're going to have to sleep right here with me now. I'm tired and full and I don't feel like doing anything else."  
  
"Duo. don't you remember how much you complained last time you let bodies lay where they fell? If you do the same thing when we wake up I won't sleep beside you anymore."  
  
"Meh. Like I believe that." I wrapped my arms around Heero and buried my face against his strong chest, closing my eyes and letting the slow, steady rhythm of his heart lead me to slumber. I fell easily asleep laying there, pressed against him. Not like it's a hard thing to do. Heero has this way of making me feel comfortable and stable, no matter how many creepy things are running around my head.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
When I next cracked my lids open to the world I was happy to discover that the room was dark, despite the hot sun baking everything else in the area. It was about eleven am, I could tell just by the way the heat hung in the darkness. it was like I was sensing the sun through the walls of our apartment. I yawned, licking my lips and blinking sleepily at Heero's slack face. I pressed my lips against his with a grin, effectively waking him up.  
  
"Hn. let me sleep Duo."  
  
"Nunh unh. we got lots to do Hee-chan. no more sleeping. We have to get my book back.don't you remember? I decided I'm gonna save Solo. if I offed Erika the least I could do is actually pay her dying statement a little mind, ne? So that's on the top of my list.right after dead body disposal. it stinks in here!"  
  
"Told you."  
  
"Yeah but it still reeks, get off me, I'm getting rid of those things now." I pushed at Heero's chest and he was nice enough to roll off the couch onto the floor. He stood and pulled me up after him, clearly trying to hide the fact that it smelled like a mortuary in our apartment by being unaffected. He totally sucks at hiding things.have I mentioned that one yet? Seriously, he shouldda just got a big red sign that said he was about to keel over and die from the stink. It was too funny, I had to laugh, even though I was in the same boat in the nose department.  
  
Heero Helped me gather everyone into a neat little pile. We wrapped each of them up and I turned to him curiously.  
  
"This is a high-rise. what am I supposed to do.drop them down and hope you can catch? There's no way."  
  
"Duo I honestly can't believe you. You lose yourself for a few days and you think I'm going to do everything for you? No.I'm not. Hn. we are on the nineteenth floor. This building has surveillance throughout.this is not a challenge. We are vampires, yes.but we also happen to be Gundam pilots. If you can't disarm a simple security system that's pretty sad. Think with your head baka."  
  
I blushed in embarrassment.the guy had a point.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
After the stench control crew part of my day was over it was about one in the afternoon, and I was ready to go book hunting. I wanted the stink out of my clothes first, however, so I stopped myself from doing anything else until I had a nice cold shower. With my favourite accessory - Heero. He wasn't really keen on hopping under the spray with me. I swear he's got a modesty problem or something. He blushes more times in one day than I can count on all my fingers and toes put together, and he is always shying out of stuff. Awww, wittle Hee-chan is bashful..kawaii!  
  
I wrapped my arms around his torso, pinning his elbows to his sides and kissing his face while he tried to pretend he wasn't enjoying it. I dragged him out of his clothes and into the shower with me. He was studying my face through the cool spray. I looked up to meet curious slices of silver in his face, studying the way I moved.studying me.  
  
Placing a hand in his I frowned, trying to figure out what he was looking at that was so damned grasping. "Heero.why do I suddenly feel like a centerfold in a porno mag? Yer starin' at me. What's on your mind?"  
  
He swallowed and regarded me stilly.  
  
"I.I had a dream."  
  
"Yeah.and? Me too. I dreamt you were my love slave for all eternity. *cackle* really.why are you staring at me?"  
  
".It isn't important."  
  
"Heero.how stupid exactly do you think I am? When someone pulls this act with the curious staring and the crumbly heart I don't expect them to be dignified about it.pretending you are all hurt and dramatic is sad. Grow up. I don't want to watch you pretend you have to struggle with shit like this. Just spit it out."  
  
Ok, so maybe I could have been a little nicer.. so what. I wasn't feeling so hot. Suddenly I was feeling tired and crabby. I wanted my book back.I wanted my Solo back. I wanted normal Heero back. Ever since he'd changed me he'd been all.weird. I wasn't sure I liked who he was anymore.that's what it was coming down to. I grit my teeth at him and glared into his stupid glowing eyes, feeling like he deserved a kick in the teeth. I neglected to notice the quivery lip that marked his disturbance, and the level that he was taking this on. Over-serious bastard.  
  
"I dreamt about you.and Solo. I know what's going to happen. I think it was like a premonition."  
  
"Well what is going to happen?"  
  
"I can't tell you. If I tell then it wont work out right."  
  
"Gah! Heero if you are just brining shit up to taunt me that is STUPID! Get a life! Man, I don't care if your having premonitions about me, unless yer gonna tell ME about what you see."  
  
"Then I won't tell you when they happen anymore."  
  
The gleeful, sarcastic little voice that liked to reside in the back of my mind stirred with amusement, grinning lazily out from behind my eyes at Heero even as I bitched him out. I was just fed up with his stupid crybaby attitude. If he wanted to skulk for eternity then that was his problem, I was not prepared to stick around and watch. I finished off my shower, climbing out and shaking myself off, then grabbing a towel and wrapping it about my hair. I looked at my smooth cold reflection in the mirror. I smiled into the mirror, and surely the being staring back at me had to be another Duo.Someone who wasn't me. My face. my demeanor.it had changed dramatically since the last time I looked at myself. I was.sinister. Honest.the grin on my lips was evil..my little fangs didn't help matter much, but they weren't the biggest part, I simply didn't look like a very nice young vampire anymore.I looked like I wanted to slit someone's throat. Nothing big had changed about me. my face was back to normal, I could see just fine out of my eyes.who the hell was looking at me in the mirror?  
  
/There are more of you in here than you thought Duo./  
  
#What? Who the hell are you? Get out of my head!#  
  
/No./  
  
#Grrr. Fuck OFF! I'm not nuts.I am gonna be the only one in this head from now on!#  
  
/Don't you wish. no Duo I'm you just as much as you are. I'm just not as nice. You're a vampire now, you need me. Honest. Now you have fun and I'll be back.Ciao!/  
  
Stupid voice in my head #2 evaporated.rather he skipped to the back of my mind. The hateful appearance in me evaporated with him, dissolving into my normal, friendly appearance. /OK.that was strange./  
  
I went back to my room and pulled on my clothes. I'm glad it didn't matter to me if they were dirty or not, they were full of various people's blood. The smell of my own clothing was pretty gross. A thick, old stench swam in the murky black heat of the apartment. I forgot all about my nice refreshing shower as I sank down on the bed, listening to Heero climb out of the tub in the bathroom and dry himself off. He was muttering under his breath -  
  
"Damned fledgling.pig-headed..won't listen to a word I say."  
  
I growled and raised my voice. "Hey Heero if you wanna bad-mouth me do it to my face! I kin take it! ESPECIALLY from you!"  
  
Heero came into the room stark naked. He had a sour, pissed glare on his face. "You are going to get that book back.all that trouble people went though to bring you your stupid prophecy. or fortune.whatever it is.you're going to honour them by getting Solo here."  
  
I nodded to him.  
  
"And how, oh genius Gundam pilot man, am I supposed to get that damned book back!? Surely after three days its gone."  
  
"You will find it. You no longer have a choice."  
  
"Hey.Heero are you.threatening me?"  
  
"I am presenting you with clear options."  
  
"Yes, of course, 'here Duo you can listen to me and get the book, or you can.listen to me and get the book. Nice work Duo. I am so proud.' What the fuck!? You don't own me asshole!"  
  
"Duo calm yourself down and try being more rational. Think. When the city police have a murder case, where do they bring the evidence?"  
  
I offered Heero a knowing look, just daring him to make all my worrying null and void. "To the evidence department in the police station."  
  
"Good. Now what reasons might they have taken your book away from you?"  
  
"Er. maybe they think my slicing up random young girls has something to do with witchcraft? Ooh. I have a better one. they looked in there cause it was locked. right?"  
  
"Either way, don't you think its safe to say that your book is in the police station?"  
  
I knew where Heero was going with this one. It was easy enough to see. obviously we were going to use our happy super powers and terrorist-type skills to sneak into the local police department and snatch back what belonged to me. I recalled the face of the officer who's been carrying it. Hard-ass cop to the max. Definitely the kind of character who would do the right thing and submit any evidence or items found on a crime scene to the appropriate departments. He probably even had all the paperwork done too. Ooh. I love when things go my way.  
  
"Yeah Heero. ok. You have a point. and you're right. there's no place else it would be unless you want to include the possibility that Mr. Policeman decided to take Mr. Book home with him for bathroom reading. So when should we go after it?"  
  
"As soon as possible. If they're still looking for you then they will still have the evidence. However, knowing that you may not be dead might make them paranoid. The could have the book under some kind of lockdown. I had to be quick about it when I took you out of there Duo, I grabbed you, smashed through a window and was gone before they could so much as blink. They might be paranoid. Guess we shouldn't blame them."  
  
From there Heero and I applied out knowledge to make up a nice little plan for retrieving what had been lost without hurting innocent people. It wasn't going to be too difficult from the sound of things. I really hoped I was right.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Heero and I spent the remainder of the day asleep in our nice, pleasantly dark apartment on the nineteenth floor of the high-rise he'd selected for us. I was one happy vampire, I can tell you that much. Heero subjected himself to teddy bear status, letting me drag him with me into the darkest part of the apartment - which happened to be the coat closet - and glomp onto him as I drifted off into slumber. I figure he must have been sleepier than he'd let on, because he was still snoozing when I felt myself wake up several hours later.  
  
In the same way that I find myself sensing when the sun is out, I can also tell if its gone. I knew instinctively when I woke up, that it was dark outside, but not very late, for there were people bustling about in the city below, driving around, doing groceries, paying babysitters, walking dogs. so on and so forth. I yawned and licked my lips, wetting them and running my tongue over my teeth. I smiled in the pleasant cool darkness as I felt Heero's chest rise and fall beneath my hand. We were both sitting upright, he had his back against the wall and I was laying lazily in his lap, my head and hand resting n his chest.  
  
I leaned upwards and offered a nice little kiss to the sleeping creature beneath me. I took this opportunity to stroke my fingers through his thick silken hair and listen to his heartbeat and breathing. He was very peaceful as he slept, and where I knew I would have been frightened or disturbed by his hardness and coldness as a human, I now found it comforting, safe. He was a creature like to me, in a world where there were no other creatures such as ourselves. This alone drew us together in a way that felt very permanent.  
  
"Wake up sleeping beauty. we've got people to frighten and police stations to rob. you gonna help me or do you plan on sitting in this closet all night?" I punctuated my words with a few kisses to the corners of his mouth. His eyes opened into mine and a small appreciative smile grew on his lips.  
  
"Impatient, aren't you." He said quietly, looking sleepy still.  
  
"You know it baby. C'mon. lets get this over with."  
  
Heero pushed me off of him with a smirk and got to his feet, stretching and hopping from the closet, I followed him out, finding the apartment to be a blue-purple colour from the fading day. We were quite badly in need of fresh clothes, and that quickly became our first problem, as we saw one another to be covered in filth and dried blood.  
  
"Er. heh. I think we might need to go shopping."  
  
"No kidding. We'll just have to do it after. we aren't going to be needing these anyway."  
  
I agreed with Heero after a bit more coaxing on his part. I seem to have a little more vanity than him. I guess it comes from spending an hour brushing my hair every day for my whole life practically. We both agreed on our plans, going over them again and stepping out onto the balcony, shutting the glass behind us. Heero pointed to the police station several blocks away from the building. He explained to me that the easiest, fastest, least conspicuous way to get there was from right where we were standing. I blinked at him in question when he hopped up into the balcony railing and crouched on it with little effort.  
  
The next thing I knew Heero was sailing through the air towards the closest high-rise building. His jump was incredible, he covered what seemed to be an impossible distance, then he smacked the building hands-first, on the side that was plain brick. There was nothing to hold onto but that. I sweatdropped and let a fascinated grin swell my cheeks. Heero crawled up the side of the building with no trouble at all, his fingers gripping the brick powerfully enough that he was able to scurry to the roof in ten seconds flat. He waved me over and stood, waiting for me. I made a nervous face and hopped onto the balcony railing, looking down at the ground nineteen stories below. All the people looked tiny and slow. like bugs. I sucked in a breath. it was really going to hurt when I landed on the ground head-first.  
  
I closed my eyes and tensed, jumping as powerfully as I could in the direction that Heero had gone. I could feel the air whipping past me and snarling my hair into an even greater tangle. Opening my eyes, all I could see was dark brick growing in my vision, getting closer and gaining detail as it fast approached me. I could already feel the pain as I expected myself to slam into it face-first and slide along it down the length of the entire building.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ok everyone, can we say PROCRASTINATION!?? Heh. I know its been an impossibly long time since I updated this, but I'm feeling back into things, and I'm realizing that I hate having unfinished fics just sitting around. So, I've decided to get off my sorry ass and update. Cool, huh? ^_^ Hope you guys like the newest part, there's more to come!  
  
Lady AngelFiren  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ 


	19. The Vampire Heero Ch19

The Vampire Heero; Part Nineteen By Lady AngelFiren  
  
Disclaimer: Firen Donna own'um Gundam Wing, and she's not makin the monnies, so donna sue!  
  
Warnings: Vampires, Shounen ai, (2+1/1+2 my first non-lemony fic O.0), violence, blood, sexual assault, deathfic (it's a good thing though, you'll see), some angst, OOC Heero, and probably OOC Duo as well.  
  
Additional warning: I know this is a vampy fic, but there isn't a lot of the traditional vampire lore. I don't really like lore, so there isn't almost any here. I made most of the "vampire stuff" up myself to create a new kind of vampire, I hope it turned out ok, tell me what you think. In any case, the vampires aren't totally run-of-the-mill (or at least I don't think they are, but they very well may be)  
  
Please send C&C! More of this will be up soon!!!! Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Vampire Heero; Part Nineteen By Lady AngelFiren  
  
I felt a hard jolt press through my entire body as I smacked straight into the side of the high-rise building. Something was definitely crushed, pain flared up my arms and a sense of panic gripped me. I knew I wouldn't die whether I fell or not, however I couldn't help the fact that I was scrabbling for hold on the side of a fucking building. I was sliding down, yanked merrily towards the earth below by gravity's intense influence. I heard Heero's voice yelling at me to 'climb!' but I was completely uncertain of how to do that.  
  
Blood decorated the building's surface where I'd passed it, I was bleeding from my knees, hands, and chest, as well as my face. He growled and forced the fear from my guts with his annoying encouragement from above. I told myself that I would have to climb the building, lest Heero see me fall.  
  
Figures that would work perfectly well. Oh sure, Duo Maxwell is death and all. and he can avoid death easily, but only if Heero has a say in the matter. Hmph.  
  
I felt blood making my grip slippery on the bricks, but my bare toes and my fingertips managed to keep me from falling and become a vampire pancake. Lucky me. I became very aware of exactly how. vertical a 90 degree surface is as I began my climb to the roof.  
  
Ten minutes and many strange leaping and crawling trials later Heero and I found ourselves standing on the roof of a short, four-story apartment complex, overlooking the police station. I glanced over at him, taking a moment to admire the way his pale face contrasted so perfectly with the jeweled sky behind him. He looked at me from the corner of his eye with just a hint of confusion, like he was wondering what was so interesting about his face. I offered a sheepish grin in return. His features were almost elfin in their softness - his lips were thin, granting him a cunning disposition, his eyes were always sharp and aware; I noticed this more so now than I had before he changed me. It seemed to matter more how things looked and smelled and sounded now that I was like him. I felt at times like I was a slave to my senses, wrapped in a world of ceaseless taunts and enticing creatures.  
  
A siren on the street below tugged me from my drifting thoughts and I redoubled my focus on the task at hand. Heero and I were familiar with the police station's layout. The evidence was held under lockdown in a fairly secure room on the second floor. To check evidence in, authorities had to go through a stack of paperwork at the desk before it could be stored away. Of course we didn't plan on putting anything in there, we were going to go for an easier approach.  
  
Heero nudged me in the shoulder, directing his gaze to a pair of patrollers who were just getting out of their vehicles, which had been parked in the lot behind the station. I nodded to him and skittered easily along the edge of the roof towards were they were chattering amiably. Heero was right behind me. I waited for him to give me the okay that the coast was clear, and I leapt down, landing between the two. They were walking into the station, likely to swipe out for the day and go home to their families, but both of them froze with uncertainty when they saw me practically appear out of nowhere.  
  
It occurred to me then that I certainly must have looked my part as creepy crawly nighttime horror boy. My hair was still a tangled mess filled with twigs and dirt and blood. There were scrapes still healing on my hands, face, and pretty much everywhere else from a particularly nasty tumble I'd taken in following Heero through the skyscrapers. Aside from that I was wearing a pathetic excuse for a t-shirt and a pair of boxers. Now wonder they both stared at me in confused shock before starting in on their questioning routine.  
  
"Y-yes sir. can we help you with something?" One of them asked me, a hint of fear in his voice. I felt a rush of strange desire to be perfectly evil and lead them on. Pleasure shivered up my spine at the thought of it, while disgust made my belly protest with a gurgle. I wrapped an arm around each of their waists and leapt easily back to the roof where Heero was waiting for me. I don't know if he saw the confusion that passed through me as we disarmed them and stole some of their blood, but I can be certain he was planning on ignoring it if he did see something odd in me.  
  
I found myself seated on one of the officer's chests, peering at him, considering whether I should kill him or not. Heero cuffed me upside the head. He was already wearing the officer's uniform, weapons, and he had the access card to the station in his hand.  
  
"Duo, snap out of it. get dressed."  
  
I gave him a guilty look and felt myself melt completely back happy carefree Duo mode as I stripped the man down to his briefs and donned his uniform. The smell of human was all over his clothes, it was strangely foreign to me now. I could tell that this man had eaten a burger and fries for dinner, that he had a dog at home, and a wife. or at least someone female who hugged him and liked to play with his uniform. There were the scents of people that I deemed must be criminals, because they were only on the sleeves or wrists of the uniform, as if he had apprehended someone and stuffed them into his cruiser without too much struggle. Of course this information was totally pointless, and Heero was looking at me like I was a moron. He leapt to the parking lot after making sure the pair would be alright. I followed him and walked beside him into the police station.  
  
You would think that a place such as this one would be busy, considering the size of the city we were in and the time of day. We weren't expecting it to be as crowded as it was, however. I fought the urge to slap my hands over my ears as we stepped inside. I was glad that the place seemed large enough that some unrecognizable officers would go unnoticed by the rest., because Heero and I stood out like a couple of sore thumbs, what with our paleness and our silence. I felt quite uncomfortable here, which is strange considering how many more uncomfortable sorts of places I've been in my time. Heero led me towards the elevators and he swiped us in. there was nobody else inside for the time being. Heero pushed the button for the second floor and turned to me casually as a few other officers entered. They looked at us like we weren't there and the doors slid shut.  
  
I was forced to inhale the scent of blood very close to me as we waited for the second floor to come to us. I felt almost claustrophobic with so many people squared in beside me and pressing against me. One of the taller officers finally looked at me, cocking his head to the side.  
  
"You're from across town? I haven't seen you here before."  
  
"I offered a broad smile and extended a hand. "Sure, I'm from the other branch, nice establishment you guys have here, I'm Terry Fleming, pleasure to meet you." I shook the man's hand and met his eyes. He smiled back and introduced himself, but I felt his heartbeat speed up somewhat, which made me a little nervous, though I hid it easily. Was he seeing through my lie?  
  
"You look a lot younger than most of the crew, how long have you been an officer?"  
  
"I'm fresh out of college, actually this is my very first month on the force. Its been great working with everyone, I think I'm going to like having this job a lot, I'm glad I went to school for it."  
  
"Yeah. a lot of the guys say that."  
  
The bell dinged and Heero made his way to the door, squeezing through the other people in the elevator to get out of it. Some of them got off on the same floor as us, however my new friend gave me another warm smile and we went out separate ways. I caught up with Heero as we walked in the direction of the evidence room. He had that focused mission look in his eyes and I decided to let him do the talking. I swear, the guy gets a total kick out of playing these little charades, ever since I've known him, nothing will sway him from including impersonation and dressing up in his work. I think, in a different time and place, he might have been some kind of performer, maybe an actor. He'd be great at it, if his work is any reference.  
  
We got to the desk and Captain Control leaned up against it, speaking with the woman who was seated behind the countertop. She asked for some foreign sounding paperwork, but Heero eluded her, talking his way around her until she finally crumbled and told him he could go in. Heero told me to wait for him while he got what we came for. I took a leisurely stance leaning against the wall as I watched him go into the double doors. His image disappeared from view and I set myself to waiting as patiently as one Duo Maxwell with absolutely nothing to entertain him can.  
  
Obviously that isn't nearly as easy as it sounds. I tried leaning against the wall for awhile, giving smiles and casual nods of my head to whomsoever passed me by, but I felt out of place, and my thoughts were roaming around excitedly in my head. I snuck a peek at the woman behind the counter, the one that Heero had been talking to before he went into the evidence room. Her eyes flickered back towards mine and I smiled compulsively, heading closer to her.  
  
Her brows furrowed slightly, her chocolate skin gleaming in my eyes from the angle of light hitting her face. She was wearing subtle perfume, something flowery and spicy, and her hair was loose, hanging about shoulder- length, twisted into tiny curly ringlets all over. I became possessed with curiosity as to what her hair might feel like under my fingers, I wondered how hair could even curl like that. I, myself, have hopelessly straight hair, the only waves I get in it are from my braid, and thanks to Heero's gift of immortality, nothing makes it curl now.  
  
"I Haven't seen you around here before." she started. Wow, talk about your deja-vu, that was the very same thing the cop in the elevator said to me when we were coming up to the evidence floor. I swear, everything that has happened to me since me an' Heero found that book has been creepy and full of strange little coincidences that seem to have no meaning at first, but then develop meaning shortly after the fact.  
  
"Terry Fleming, I'm from the other branch, just got out of college." I said to her with a smile. She didn't look so easily convinced as the other Officer had been, unfortunately. She frowned at me, her eyes running over my face.  
  
"Really? Wow you look awfully young, you don't look a day past fourteen."  
  
I ground my teeth together, giving her a mordant glower. I hated it when people told me I looked younger than I really was, it was insulting, not to mention annoying as hell. "Well I get that a lot. man how long is it taking him in there?"  
  
"Taking who?"  
  
"Er. my partner. He went into the evidence room like ten minutes ago and he's still not back. jeeze. some people are just slow, man I tell you what."  
  
"Officer Fleming, anytime evidence in that room is touched it has to be recorded, he is likely filling out the paperwork, you should know that. where did you say you went to college?"  
  
"I didn't say."  
  
"Mmhmm. I'm going to need to see your badge and ID, you can go in after him and give him a hand if you want, maybe you'll have a better battle with the forms."  
  
Now what was this woman up to? My badge and ID? Damn. I'd just picked a name at random, I had no idea what it said on my badge. Hell, I didn't even know where I kept my badge. I patted my left breast pocket and sighed in relief when I felt it there, over my heart. Yeah, like it would be really dramatic and special if my badge took a bullet for me now. It'd be more hurt than me. I pulled it out and flipped it open, glancing at it with brief curiosity as I showed it to her. My ID card was opposite the badge, and the picture on it looked nothing like me. I also noticed that my uniform was three or four sizes too big for me, and finally, I realized that there was a spatter of blood on my left hand, the hand I was holding up my badge and ID with. I gave her a nervous smile, knowing that I was definitely fucking this up. I only hoped that Heero had found the book by now, because I was damn sure that something bad was about to happen.  
  
Ah, the wonders of precognition. The officer on the other side of the counter drew her gun on me and rose to her feet. She glared at me angrily.  
  
"That isn't your picture there. That's Charlie! What did you do with him. Who are you!?"  
  
I wasn't sure what to do at first, but I'm glad that my feet had already decided to take me barreling towards the large doors that marked 'evidence'. I smashed through them in a shower of spraying glass and twisted metal, sending sirens blaring throughout the whole building, while a calm computerized voice informed everyone in the building that there was a security breach on level three.  
  
"Heero! We gotta boot it! I fucked up!" I shouted the moment I saw his back. He was poking through things at random, it looked like he still hadn't found what we were looking for. He turned around, his face crinkling into a scowl. He gave me his best Death Glare.  
  
"Duo, damnit, I haven't found it yet! What the hell did you do!?"  
  
"Eh. you don't; wanna know, just.we have to get outta here! Where is it supposed to be!?"  
  
"That's the thing! Its not here! I found where it was supposed to be, and its not there! I can even smell that it was there not long ago. but its gone! Someone got here before us!"  
  
"Well then what are you still doing in here! Lets go before- BAM!  
  
BAM, BAM, BAM!  
  
Four bullets sailed merrily at us from behind. I was mercifully unhurt, but unfortunately Heero didn't fare so well. Now, you would think that Captain Control would have it all down pat, you'd think that he'd just get up no matter how many times he was shot and be fine, I mean that's his job, after all. But I guess even Heero has a point, and three and a half bullets seems to be it. The first one struck him squarely in the hip. I heard bone shatter even as the other bullets were being fired. He made a grimace and reached for his own weapon, but he was, for once, not quick enough. Three more bullets pummeled his torso before he spat a gob of blood from his lips and crumpled into an unconscious heap.  
  
I Am SOOOOO glad for my training, if not for everything else that's happened din my life, then just because I knew how to react the second I heard the first shot. I grabbed Heero's middle and slung him over my shoulder, barreling deeper into the room in search of a window. There were none, this fucking building must have been made of gundanium, or at least this room. Loads of officers with their guns cocked at the ready were filing expertly into the room, searching for us while I crawled and crept as inconspicuously as possible away. I got to my hands and knees, Heero's corpse on my back. His blood is what led them to me, he was leaving a red trail wherever we went. I crawled as fast as I could along one wall for the door, but a nightstick slammed me in the back long before I could reach it. I was alright from that hit, but the shower of bullets that followed was more worrisome. I felt pain flower through my body as I concentrated on two things. Holding onto Heero tightly, and smashing through the wall ahead of me. I felt things in my face break as I used my head for a battering ram, exploding gracelessly through the wall in a shower of blood and flying rubble. I emerged into an office area, littered with papers and lit by fluorescent lights. A lot of the people inside were missing, probably looking for me on the other side of the wall I'd just crashed through, but a few people who weren't actually officers remained and I felt a little sorry for them as I dragged my bleeding wreck of a corpse through the thin cubicle walls.  
  
I searched frantically for a window as the sound of flying bullets came after me, and my vision began to gray at the edges. Damnit! Now was NOT the time to lose consciousness over some stupid gunshot wounds! I HAD to get us BOTH out of there, and fast! I thanked the messiah when I finally saw what I was looking for, a window. I ran towards it, Heero's head smacking repeatedly against my back as he was jostled up and down upon my shoulders. My legs were both bleeding, and I think I'd been shot in the ass too, fuck.  
  
The window was covered with thick bars, like all the other windows in the building, I never even saw them, I just jumped through feet first and prayed that I could remain conscious after falling three stories to the ground in my current condition.  
  
I was lucky. Well, I suppose I was lucky. I hit the trunk of a cruiser, my feet demolishing the vehicle, but staying relatively intact. I threw Heero off my back, glad that I had at least a few seconds to free myself, it was better than no time at all. I yanked one bleeding leg up from the wreckage, scraping huge gashes into my flesh and gritting my teeth to keep myself from screaming out in pain. I pulled the other leg out as well and grabbed Heero up, barely glancing at him as I hit the road on foot at the fastest speed I could go.  
  
I put two blocks between myself and the police station before I ducked into an alley and ripped a manhole open. I threw Heero in and jumped in myself, hearing his ribs crack more as I landed on him. I winced and climbed up to shut the manhole cover. Once we were safely underground I returned to his side and grabbed him up against myself, tears of shock and fear flowing helplessly over my cheeks. I hugged Heero's limp and motionless form to my chest and pressed my lips to his, biting my tongue and trying to get him to take some of my blood. He didn't respond, he was out cold. I knew he would survive, of course he would survive, but now I had no idea where I was and I didn't know how to get either of us out of here. What was there to eat down here? Too bad those alligator in the sewers rumors aren't true, I would've eaten anything at this point.  
  
And of course, I had completely forgotten about the Book of Shadows by this time, which was still very much missing. It occurred briefly to me, but I pushed thoughts of it out of my head, throwing Heero over my back again and stepping into the hip-deep sewage that was sloshing at a lazy pace through the tunnel. I picked a direction and thanked my amazing new abilities as they allowed me to use hearing and touch to navigate in a forward motion. Overhead, I could hear sirens as the police scoured the city for Heero and I. The gray crept ever more thickly over my consciousness, until finally I wrapped my arms around Heero and let the water carry us where it would.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TBC.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ok everyone, can we say PROCRASTINATION!?? Heh. That's what I wrote at the end I my last chapter, and it totally applies here as well. I know its been way too long, and a lot of you have probably lost interest and moved on to something more entertaining by now, but I intend to finish this damn fic if it's on my deathbed, and that is what I'm going to do! I know what's going to happen in the rest of the fic. Well. some of it. Other parts. I'm still working on the other parts, but since all of you have been so incredibly forgiving with your patience, I have not lost my motivation. I hate leaving things unfinished and hanging, that's why I'm updating. I'd love to hear what you think, if anyone out there in fanfictionland is still reading this. ^_^ More ASAP..though of course I have no idea when that will be.  
  
Lady AngelFiren  
  
~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ 


	20. The Vampire Heero Ch20

The Vampire Heero; Part Twenty By Lady AngelFiren  
  
Disclaimer: Firen Donna own'um Gundam Wing, and she's not makin the monnies, so donna sue!  
  
Warnings: Vampires, Shounen ai, (2+1/1+2 my first non-lemony fic O.0), violence, blood, sexual assault, deathfic (it's a good thing though, you'll see), some angst, OOC Heero, and probably OOC Duo as well.  
  
Additional warning: I know this is a vampy fic, but there isn't a lot of the traditional vampire lore. I don't really like lore, so there isn't almost any here. I made most of the "vampire stuff" up myself to create a new kind of vampire, I hope it turned out ok, tell me what you think. In any case, the vampires aren't totally run-of-the-mill (or at least I don't think they are, but they very well may be)  
  
Please send C&C! More of this will be up soon!!!! Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Vampire Heero; Part Twenty By Lady AngelFiren  
  
I still have no idea how long I was unconscious for. When Heero transformed me, I began to lose count of the days and nights that passed, and by the time Heero and I went on our raid in the police station, I was oblivious to the date on the calendar. I do know, however, that the sun rose and set and rose at least once more before I became aware of anything around me.  
  
I snapped awake quite suddenly, opening my eyes into thick silent darkness and immediately realizing that I had no sense of which way was up, and which was down. I attempted to breathe in and realized that my lungs were filled with water, which induced a coughing fit of epic proportions. As I was choking to death and flailing madly to try and find oxygen to breathe, I smacked against slimy interlocked stones, and realized that one of my legs was trapped between something; it felt like the bars on a prison cell door. Meanwhile, I was becoming dangerously close to panic, as I was forced to simply not breathe, and although I really didn't feel like passing out just yet, I feared it would come soon.  
  
But it didn't. I forced myself to be still and relax once I realized that I wasn't drowning, despite the fact that my body was completely devoid of oxygen. I closed my eyes, as they were completely useless to me, and felt around myself at the slimy stones I was sitting on. After I got a good sense that the 'floor' around me was solid and bare (not to mention non- threatening, despite the icky slime), I felt forwards, to where my leg was trapped. It came free on my first try, I guess I wasn't really that stuck after all, more like I'd drifted there and my leg had just happened to slip through the grate.  
  
However, now that I was free, I could feel a fairly intimidating current forcing me against the bars, trying to squish me through them. I climbed upwards, and quickly broke the surface, the water wasn't nearly as deep as it'd seemed. I immediately (and retartedly) attempted to breathe in again, and it fucking figures that I had to start coughing my ass off and throwing up water from my lungs. Although, I guess that was the only way to get it outta me anyway, so it was sort of mandatory coughing.  
  
Once I managed to get myself breathing aright I felt a little better, I felt my brain working again, I was able to think of more than just escaping. My worries and burdens came back to me and squished me firmly back into reality. I took a deep breath and looked around in the blackness, sniffing the area and wrinkling my nose at the rank smell of water and the awful taste in my mouth.  
  
The moment I thought of my mouth, my stomach began to snarl anxious protest and I realized that I had never been so hungry in my whole life. Not even when I hadn't eaten anything more than garbage for four days straight on L2. This was deeper, every vein in my body burned with the ache for food, and the struggle to keep myself from thinking of eating was a terrible feat for me to accomplish.  
  
I choked and panted with thirst for at least ten minutes before I saw anything other than red in front of my eyes. The gentle sloshing of the sewage against my back calmed me and helped me concentrate on freeing myself.  
  
Then it hit me.  
  
Where was Heero?  
  
I couldn't see anything in the water around me, I couldn't see anything at all, actually. I could only smell the disgusting water, there was no other scent that filtered in, and everything was silent close by. There was no breathing, no heartbeats, no thoughts at all. I would have cried, but there was no blood in me. There were dry sobs from my lungs, but my voice didn't sound like my own, it was a rasp in the back of my throat, painful at best. I tried to say Heero's name, and I could barely even move my face, my skin was stretched tightly around my whole body so thinly that I felt like I was shrink wrapped all over. I put my hands to my face and gasped in surprise. They felt like skeleton hands, all bony and skinny, though my skin was waterlogged, which made moving a little easier. Either way, I was ready to pee myself, it was creepy as hell. I took a breath and ducked under the water, crawling downwards along the grate and then moving around in search of Heero.  
  
Relief flooded me a thousand times over when I felt a skeletal form crushed against the grate, cold and motionless, but smooth, immortal. He was still with me. Fuck, I have no idea what I would've done if he'd been gone. I mean I can take care of myself and all.. but I needed him around, he was the only other vampire, and I still had so much to learn from him. I wrapped an arm around him, feeling my muscles burn with exhaustion and thirst when I used them. I burned all over.  
  
I pulled Heero's head above the water and headed towards my left, hoping that there would be some kid of ledge.something.anything to stand on, to rest on. There was a ledge, but it was only about a foot in width, which made it an awfully uncomfortable place to be. Meanwhile, my hunger poked my brain repeatedly, shifting my thoughts to starvation once more. I dragged Heero up onto the thin ledge and balanced myself with some difficulty over top of him. I pushed down on his diaphragm and listened to water bubble out of his mouth and trickle down the slimy walls to join the rest of the sewage. Heero's arm fall over the ledge and hung slackly in midair, though I could not see it, I simply knew it was there, even though all of my senses were dull thanks to my thirst.  
  
Heero began to cough up water on his own after the first push on his chest to get him started. He convulsed with the force of his coughs and spit water between us. I heard him hiss from his throat and begin to breathe on his own, laboring intensely to get clear breaths. He spit up more water and sat up, growling still. I heard him sniffing, and his hand reached out to touch me on the chest.  
  
"Duo." He rasped quietly, wrapping his arms around me and pushing his head against me.  
  
Well. I hadn't expected that from Mr. Perfect Soldier, But I did return the gesture, kissing his hair even though there was sewer slime in it. He pulled my face towards his and kissed my lips with his own, which were smooth, but tight like the rest of our skin. Heero was also shrink wrapped, it seemed.  
  
We were quiet and close for a few minutes, until finally I couldn't help it anymore, I knew Heero didn't have food, but I was so hungry, I thought maybe sharing it with him would get me fed.  
  
"Heero. I'm fucking starving. we hafta get outta here fast and get something to eat, this is makin' me crazy! Come on, lets look for a way out."  
  
Heero didn't seem to be in a talkative mood, I felt him nod against me and he crawled out from under me, getting on his hands and knees in front of me and scooting along the ledge at a snail's pace. I guess he was weaker than he let on, at least I could talk and move without too much pain. I wondered how many bullets he'd taken, and if any of his wounds remained. I followed Heero, and heard him sniffing at the air around us frequently.  
  
"What are you lookin' for Heero? All I smell is dirty water. Man that's rank. " I wrinkled my nose for emphasis, though of course it was dark as any tunnel underground can be, so nobody, least of all Heero, could see me.  
  
I think it took him awhile to find his voice past a grunt or snarl, he made a few of these sounds in effort to speak before a low whisper that was barely recognizable as Heero's voice elicited from his lips.  
  
"I'm looking for fresh air." Was all the response he gave me, as he went back to his search for fresh air.  
  
My knees ached from smacking the rough edges of the too-thin ledge that we were crawling on, but I followed Heero along, my stomach never seeming to cease its demands for blood. That thirst clouded my thoughts, judgments, and even made me care less about my situation, I figured as long as I got something to eat soon I'd be fine with staying down here forever.  
  
Before long I joined Heero in sniffing the rank sewer air in hopes of finding fresh oxygen that could lead us to a way out. The sewer was very quiet, we were not breathing much, and being preternatural creatures of darkness, we made very little noise as we scuttled along. Heero paused when he reached a fork in our trail. He rasped to me that I should stay where I was while he tried to determine which way led more quickly above ground. I hate playing sidekick.have I ever mentioned that before? I can't stand when Heero pushes me back out of the way so that he has more room to do the dirty work, the important work. I let out a bit of a growl and jumped into the water, splashing him and everything else around me. The current told me something that Heero couldn't sense with his nose alone. The water in the tunnel was coming form one direction more strongly than from the other. Heero stayed perched on his stupid ledge, sniffing like a moron, while I started to paddle against the current, assuming that I would come to somewhere significant before he could figure anything out. I paused and clung to the ledge at the side of the tunnel when Heero started to nag at me.  
  
"Duo that's the wrong way, the air smells fresher this way. come on."  
  
"Shut up Heero, you aren't always right you know! I think its this way. the current's fast here, follow me!  
  
"This is the right way Duo! I've been doing things like this for far longer than you, I've got a sense for them. If you go that way you're going to run into a dead end."  
  
"That's impossible, The water has to be coming from somewhere, it's probably an open manhole, we can crawl out and get food and be back on our feet in no time, if we go that way we're going to hit another dead end, I'm sure of it. I can't smell any fresh air from any direction. we gotta use other means to figure our way outta here."  
  
There was a stretch of silence, in which I assume now that Heero was considering my words and re-evaluating his own judgment, searching for a flaw in his logic. He probably shook his head in the darkness, though I will never know for sure.  
  
"You're wrong Duo. you'll see. I'm going this way, whenever you realize you messed up just come back this way. if I get out of the sewers before you, meet me at the highest point in the city, I'll wait for you. Baka. you've got to learn these things."  
  
"Fuck off Heero! I'm sick of you telling me what to do like I'm some stupid idiot who can't do anything for himself! Is this some kind of challenge? You want me to prove to you that I'm right!? Fine! I'm going this way, it's a race, I'll be at the highest point in the city long before you ever get there, dumbass!"  
  
I gave Heero the finger in the darkness and paddled off in the direction I had started, listening to him crawling the other way down the tunnel until the sounds disappeared and I was completely alone in the oppressive black tunnel, warmish sludge rushing ever more powerfully against me as I paddled. Damn Heero. just cause I was new at being a vampire didn't mean I wasn't a professionally trained terrorist, not to mention Duo Maxwell! I can run and hide.and hide and run, and then some! That's what I do, its what makes me Duo! I'm an escape artist extraordinaire! I'm quick, nimble, and smart as a whip! And even if I was a big fat slowpoke, I still wouldn't let Heero boss me around, whether he's right or not.  
  
And this is how I got myself into even more trouble than I'd bargained for.  
  
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TBC.  
  
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Ok, short little chapter, but it was necessary to end it here, this is where my fingers stopped writing and told me that I needed to make a chapter out of it. You see, I like the way every chapter ends with a bit of a cliffy, something to keep you people coming back for more, so I'm gonna keep on with that pattern and get cracking on my next chapter right away! ^_^ Thanks for all the commentary on chapter nineteen, its good to know there are still people reading this fic!  
  
Lady AngelFiren  
  
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	21. The Vampire Heero Ch21

The Vampire Heero; Part Twenty-one By Lady AngelFiren  
  
Disclaimer: Firen Donna own'um Gundam Wing, and she's not makin the monnies, so donna sue!  
  
Warnings: Vampires, Shounen ai, (2+1/1+2 my first non-lemony fic O.0), violence, blood, sexual assault, deathfic (it's a good thing though, you'll see), some angst, OOC Heero, and probably OOC Duo as well.  
  
Additional warning: I know this is a vampy fic, but there isn't a lot of the traditional vampire lore. I don't really like lore, so there isn't almost any here. I made most of the "vampire stuff" up myself to create a new kind of vampire, I hope it turned out ok, tell me what you think. In any case, the vampires aren't totally run-of-the-mill (or at least I don't think they are, but they very well may be)  
  
Please send C&C! More of this will be up soon!!!! Enjoy!  
  
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The Vampire Heero; Part Twenty-one By Lady AngelFiren  
  
It didn't take me long to realize that I would really have preferred to follow Heero, since the way I was traveling just got more difficult as I went. The tunnel started to get full of water, and that water was pushing hard against me, making swimming damnear impossible to do at all. I feared letting water fill my lungs like it had when I first awoke in the sewers, the thought of not breathing was really less than comforting, let me tell you. However, this wasn't the only problem. You know how they say alligators live in the sewers? I wish.  
  
Something much more. how should I say this. difficult to deal with. was following me, or so it seemed. The first instance that I became aware of another presence somewhere around me was not long after I left Heero's side. Of course, at the time, I was much too absorbed in beating Heero than I was with my actual surroundings. I kept traveling against the current, my nose in the air and my thoughts on my stomach, as well as on Heero. They certainly were not on the possibility of something stalking me, of all creatures.  
  
I'm a vampire, what can hurt me? I can't die. obviously nothing should be a threat to me. However, something was expecting me, and it seemed to fare much better in the sloshy darkness than I did. That first time it was only a brief brush of heat against my leg, and I thought it was just some especially fresh pee-water or something, its not like this thing had any substance, so I ignored it, and pressed on in the dark.  
  
By the time my anger had faded and my thoughts were back on my stomach entirely, the water started to fill the tunnel and push harder against me, as I've already mentioned. I couldn't touch the bottom anymore, and the sides arced together to form the top of the tunnel, which had about a foot of airspace left. I was getting tired of swimming now, my arms ached through and through, and even though I still had air to breathe, it was stale, and did very little to energize me.  
  
That is when I felt the heat again, if it was a warm pee-spot in the water before, it was a bathtub of pee this time around. Something hit me from behind, traveling much faster than I was, something that went right through me and gave me the sense that sunlight was scalding my legs inside and out. I screamed hoarsely, more from fear than from pain, but the heat was already gone, returned to untrustworthy coldness and harsh current. I was too far along to quit now, so I kept going, paddling ahead full throttle in hopes that I would reach the end of my frightening tunnel ride sooner rather than later.  
  
I didn't, which figures.  
  
I coughed on a mouthful of water and smashed my face on the roof of the tunnel when the space of air that had been a whole foot tall became a mere six inches instead. Blood could not seep from the shallow slice on my nose, because I was so dry, that there was no blood in me to bleed with. As I mentioned before, my skin was wrapped tightly around me to hold my guts in, but I felt like bones, I knew I weighed considerably less than one Duo Maxwell should have, and that if someone were to see me I would look like some freakish nighttime horror show.  
  
I pressed on through the tunnel, and that is when the heat turned from a bothersome worry, to a threat. It came from behind again and really hit me this time, with physical force. I felt myself twist and cringe as searing hot touches grasped me around the ankles and yanked me below the surface of the water. I shuddered in the blackness, unable to see my assailant, unable to even fight back, because when I tried to hit it, my hands went right through its 'body', enveloping me in flames. I felt my flesh blistering and splitting where it touched me. I screamed, lungfulls of bubbles escaping my body and disappearing above the surface of the water. I flailed and tried in vain to scream more, my soundless cries exhausting me and raising the level of panic that I was trapped in to terror. Whatever had me, it had me really, really good.  
  
I felt water rushing past as I was dragged by my ankles along the bottom of the sewer, against the current. My hair billowed in the water behind me, feeling like webs over my face when I twisted in effort to get free. It scared the hell out of me that there was something out there that could destroy me, hurt me, and not even be fought. This wasn't fair!!  
  
The thing dragged me through the sewers blindly, not even slowing when I tried to stop it's progress by digging my fingertips into the bricks that lined the sewer walls. My thoughts dulled with the lack of oxygen to my brain, and I began to calm down, not because things were alright, but because I was going back into that hibernation sense that I had come out of when I first awoke in the sewers. My eyes drooped shut and the immense flaming, searing hurt that vibrated up and down my legs lessened. My head thunked against the bottom of the tunnel a few times, but that was minor compared to the heat.  
  
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Finally I was dragged back into the air, though I could scarcely defend myself, if that is what you readers are thinking. The fire thing threw me against a wall, where I impacted heavily before sagging to the floor. And there was a floor, I was inside somewhere, still in the sewers, but not in the water anymore, nowhere near the water really, this must have been a platform somewhere for maintenance workers to travel over or something.  
  
My ears were bleeding a little,(as much as they were able with my thirst) and the other scrapes and slices that I'd sustained while being dragged against my will just hurt, they couldn't bleed with the way I was starving. What was especially interesting about this little place, was that I could see, very minimally, and whatever I was seeing was fogged with pain, but there was light, which filled me with hopes of escape. I tried to focus my eyes on the blurry thing before me, I wanted to know what it wanted, even though I feared it greatly because it's touch melted my flesh like a hot knife through butter.  
  
It was humanoid, having arms and legs and a head and torso, but really there were no definite edges to the creature, it appeared to be made of mist and flame, something completely unearthly. I felt so many things when I saw it, anticipation, worry, hope. It was made of light and heat, these things billowed around it in the form of ethereal flames, soundless, and obviously waterproof.  
  
It stood before me in motionless silence, perhaps it was studying me as I was studying it? I crawled painfully onto my hands and knees, too scared to make any other moves in the thing's direction. Could it speak? Did it want to help me or hurt me? What the hell was going on!!??  
  
The ghostly fire creature floated closer, causing me to press myself back against the wall behind me. I didn't want to touch it, I loathed the thought of touching it. The little silver cross at my throat felt cold on my breast as I leaned back, my hair matted and sticking to my back.  
  
It raised its hand towards me, and I swear (though you can't tell Heero) that there were tears in my eyes I was so scared and shivery. From is misty and formless 'hand' came a small card, which appeared immune to it's fiery being. The card fluttered to the concrete in front of me facedown, I couldn't see what it was, except I knew already that it was a Tarot card, and I was awfully worried that there was a part to this puzzle that I hadn't even begun to ponder yet. I looked up at the fire being and then down to the card, reaching out with my shaking hand to flip it over.  
  
The face of The Fool stared up at me for a few moments before the card evaporated into mist and returned to the fire creature's body, as a part of it. I looked back up at it in confusion.  
  
"I-I don't understand." I croaked, my voice shaking along with every other part of my body. Was it going to hurt me now that it had me confused as hell and weak, and backed in an inescapable corner?  
  
The heat around me increased exponentially in a matter of seconds as the light that was being emitted by the fire creature grew in intensity and it's 'body' began to hum.  
  
It swirled out of shape, burning my flesh as it gathered itself around me. I screamed in terror and tried to escape, but I couldn't move at all, my legs locked up and were useless. My arms would not respond when I shrieked at them to help me get away.  
  
I was blinded as my retinas burned to nothing, and I really, honestly thought that I was a dead boy, as the pressure form the heat creature became unbearable in its intensity. My screams were so loud that the whole tunnel shook, rocks trembling in their places and falling to the concrete floor in front of me with smashing sounds, that were barely detectable because I was deaf from my own screams.  
  
The fire being swirled around me and began to crawl INSIDE me, it slithered like molten lava mist into my guts, searing them as well , entering my mouth and nose and making the world around me return to black. The light all crawled inside of me, down my throat, until the pain finally started to ebb away, and I was left shaking, and sweating tiny remaining drops of blood away. My heart pumped quickly as the fire died inside of me, and everything was once more calm.  
  
I felt cold suddenly, and I shivered, wrapping my scalded arms around my scalded legs, my flesh screaming in agony as it touched itself. Whatever it was, it was inside me now, but it was quiet. I had several thoughts of the movie 'Alien' and I hoped to holy hell that nothing was going to lay eggs in me and eat its way out through my belly. I didn't feel any different, whatever it was had disappeared for the time being, and when I opened my eyes and focused them again, I could see the very palest light above me.  
  
I inhaled, and over the smell of burnt flesh I was able to detect fresh air from above. Now. the question was, could I actually get to my feet and crawl out of here? I had to.there would be food up there.  
  
That was all the motivation I needed. I in haled once more, detecting humans on the fresh air, and the smell of the city. I shuddered and forced myself to swallow my screams, twisting around and crawling along the wall until my hand touched the maintenance worker's ladder that led to the manhole. I climbed upwards with the greatest of care not to fall and further hurt myself, every part of my body hurt so much by this point that I really didn't think I could stay conscious through anything else. It was almost impossible to get the cover off the hole, it was so heavy, and I was so incredibly weak by this point. But I did manage, and fortunately I wasn't on a busy street. On the contrary, I appeared above the ground in a deserted neighborhood. It was nighttime, there was no moon, and the streetlight over the manhole was conveniently out, which made my horrid figure invisible to any people that might have been looking my way. I forced myself not to breathe in too much, the smell of humans was maddening, and I wanted to make sure I could find some people to eat that weren't going to call the police and get me in another awful mess.  
  
I wandered through the houses, into a backyard at random. I selected one of the places that had no security system sticker on the door, the last thing I wanted was one of those stupid automatic 911 things to call the cops on me. I looked for an open window, and found one, fortunately. I broke through the screen and climbed in the house, inhaling and smelling a few cats, several different humans of different ages, and regular human food. I looked around and crept down the stairs, into the basement of the dark, peaceful home.  
  
When I think about it now, I feel sick to myself for that night, but really, it was the only option, I HAD to feed, I HAD to. There was no way to escape my own thirst. I killed the person whose bedroom was in the basement first. It was a young man, probably 26 or something, and he was not of the same blood than the rest of the family, so I'm guessing he was a roommate, renting out the basement. I crawled onto him in bed, slapped my bony hand over his mouth and tore into his throat savagely, lapping and gulping up the thick red life greedily.  
  
I drank steadily till his heart stopped with an abrupt silence in my ears. I let myself fall onto him as I felt my body repairing itself wit the blood. If anything, this first victim only served to make my hungrier, I was so deprived of food, and so injured, that it only managed to heal over the very worst of my burns, and I was sill disgusting and skeletal afterwards. I left the young man in his bed an crawled up the stairs, through the middle floor of the house, to the top floor. I went into the children's rooms one by one and killed each of them to satisfy my hunger. Not one of them ever woke up or had a chance to escape. I sicken myself, I drank every single child's blood right to the point that their hearts all stopped, and I left them in their beds to rot. I couldn't bring myself to leave the parents alive after such a massacre, there were two twin babies, and two older kids, a girl and a boy. So I entered the parents' room as well and drained each of them so skillfully that the other never even stirred as their partner died beside them.  
  
When I was finished with all seven people who had been living in the house I escaped through the bedroom window and crawled onto the roof, running over the roofs of all the houses in the area to escape the neighborhood, and head for the highest point in the city.  
  
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TBC.  
  
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Ooh. and the plot thickens! Wow. this chapter came out of my fingers in no time. I had fun writing it! Except for the end. I really don't like violence or anything. especially senseless killing, Duo muse doesn't like it either. I feel bad that I made him kill a whole family, but you have to understand how hungry he was!! Anyway, I hope to see some C&C for this part!! Any hypotheses on what just happened to Duo!? Come on people, tell me what you think!  
  
Lady AngelFiren  
  
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